/ həʊm; NAmE hoʊm/ noun , adjective , adverb , verb
■ noun
HOUSE, etc.
1.
[ C , U ] the house or flat / apartment that you live in, especially with your family :
We are not far from my home now.
Old people prefer to stay in their own homes.
She leaves home at 7 every day.
the family home
While travelling she missed the comforts of home.
He left home (= left his parents and began an independent life) at sixteen.
Nowadays a lot of people work from home .
I'll call you from home later.
( figurative )
We haven't found a home for all our books yet (= a place where they can be kept) .
stray dogs needing new homes
—see also stay-at-home
2.
[ C ] a house or flat / apartment, etc., when you think of it as property that can be bought and sold :
a holiday / summer home
A lot of new homes are being built on the edge of town.
Private home ownership is increasing faster than ever.
They applied for a home improvement loan.
—see also mobile home , second home , stately home
TOWN / COUNTRY
3.
[ C , U ] the town, district, country, etc. that you come from, or where you are living and that you feel you belong to :
I often think about my friends back home .
Jane left England and made Greece her home.
Jamaica is home to over two million people.
FAMILY
4.
[ C ] used to refer to a family living together, and the way it behaves :
She came from a violent home.
He had always wanted a real home with a wife and children.
—see also broken home
FOR OLD PEOPLE / CHILDREN
5.
[ C ] a place where people who cannot care for themselves live and are cared for by others :
a children's home
an old people's home
a retirement home
a home for the mentally ill
She has lived in a home since she was six.
—see also nursing home , rest home
FOR PETS
6.
[ C ] a place where pets with no owner are taken care of :
a dogs' / cats' home
OF PLANT / ANIMAL
7.
[ sing. , U ] the place where a plant or animal usually lives; the place where sb/sth can be found :
This region is the home of many species of wild flower.
The tiger's home is in the jungle.
The Rockies are home to bears and mountain lions.
WHERE STH FIRST DONE
8.
[ sing. ] the ~ of sth the place where sth was first discovered, made or invented :
New Orleans, the home of jazz
Greece, the home of democracy
•
IDIOMS
- at home
- away from home
- a home from home
- home is where the heart is
- home sweet home
- set up home
- when he's, it's, etc. at home
—more at charity , close (II) adjective , eat , Englishman , spiritual
■ adjective
[ only before noun ]
WHERE YOU LIVE
1.
connected with the place where you live :
home life (= with your family)
a person's home address / town
We offer customers a free home delivery service.
MADE / USED AT HOME
2.
made or used at home :
home movies
home cooking
a home computer
OWN COUNTRY
3.
( especially BrE ) connected with your own country rather than foreign countries
SYN domestic :
products for the home market
home news / affairs
OPP foreign , overseas
IN SPORT
4.
connected with a team's own sports ground :
a home match / win
the home team
Rangers were playing in front of their home crowd .
—compare away
■ adverb
WHERE YOU LIVE
1.
to or at the place where you live :
Come on, it's time to go home .
What time did you get home last night?
The trip has been exhausting and I'll be glad to be home .
After a month, they went back home to America.
It was a lovely day so I walked home.
Anna will drive me home after work.
Hopefully the doctors will allow her home tomorrow.
( NAmE )
I like to stay home in the evenings.
INTO CORRECT POSITION
2.
into the correct position :
She leaned on the door and pushed the bolt home.
He drove the ball home (= scored a goal) from 15 metres.
The torpedo struck home on the hull of the ship.
•
IDIOMS
- be home and dry
- bring home the bacon
- bring sth home to sb
- come home to sb
- sth comes home to roost
- hit / strike home
—more at cow noun , drive verb , light noun , press verb , ram verb , romp noun , write
■ verb
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- home in on sth
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English hām , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heem and German Heim .