I. ˈhōm, dial with vowel ˈə or a vowel approaching it noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hoom, hom, from Old English hām village, country, dwelling, home; akin to Old High German heim homeland, dwelling, house, Old Norse heimr homeland, world, Gothic haims village, Greek kōmē, Lithuanian kaimas village, Old English hīwan members of a household, Latin civis citizen, Greek koiman to put to sleep — more at cemetery
1.
a. : the house and grounds with their appurtenances habitually occupied by a family : one's principal place of residence : domicile
b. : a private dwelling : house
interpret … history through the architecture of its stores and homes — R.W.Howard
c. : the refuge or usual haunt of an animal
the pool at the foot of the rapids is … the home of big trout — Alexander MacDonald
2. : one's abode after death
I'm but a stranger here, heaven is my home — T.R.Taylor
3.
a. : the social unit formed by a family living together in one dwelling
a man establishes a home and makes use of a specific piece of land — P.E.James
b. : the family environment to which one is emotionally attached : focus of domestic affections
home is where the heart is
4.
a. : a familiar or suitable setting : congenial environment
finds no spiritual home in the gang — John Brooks
the theater would have been the proper home for his characters and plots — L.O.Coxe
b. : normal environment : habitat
California is the home of the redwood
the home of petroleum is in sedimentary rocks — A.M.Bateman
c. : center of cultivation : focal point
concept of a university as the home of learning — J.B.Conant
5.
a. : the country or place of origin
Britain is the home of railroads — Richard Joseph
in the home of the direct primary — F.L.Paxson
specifically : mother country
people … from the old homes moved into the same pursuits because they had brought across similar skills — Oscar Handlin
b. : center or base of operations : location , headquarters
the amphitheater … will be the home of one of two festival companies — E.B.Radcliffe
the four largest national broadcasting networks … have their home in the city — American Guide Series: New York
the pilot … heads for home — Newsweek
6. : an establishment taking the place of a home — see nursing home , tourist home ; compare funeral home
7.
a. : the objective toward which a player progresses in certain active sports (as baseball) or toward which he moves his pieces in various board games (as backgammon)
b. : an area in which a player is safe from attack
c. : one's original position in a square-dance set
d.
(1) : either of two lacrosse positions nearest the opponent's goal
(2) : a player assigned to either of these positions — compare inside home , outside home
•
- at home
II. adverb
Etymology: Middle English hoom, hom, home, from Old English hām, accusative of hām, n.
1.
a. : to or at one's principal place of residence
go home on the bus
stay home and practice the piano
b. : to one's family
writes home once a week
c. : to or at the focus of one's sympathies
has deserted the speculative heights … and is back home among the sweet and profound bums — Paul Pickrel
2. : to or at the country or place of origin
ordering diplomats home from various parts of the world
customs differ from those back home
specifically : to the mother country
ordinances passed in the colonies are periodically transmitted home
3.
a. : to the final or closed position : to the full or ultimate limit
drive a nail home
shove home a bolt
specifically : into position for loosing from a bow
draw an arrow home
b.
(1) : to or toward a ship or its interior
haul an anchor home
(2) : from the sea onto the shore
the wind is blowing home
c. : to an ultimate objective (as the finish line) in a game or sport : to the end of a course
he had 33 on the outward nine and 35 coming home — New York Times
d. : to a successful, rewarding, or winning end
if the long shot comes home — Richard Scammon
when my ship comes home
4.
a. : to the center of consciousness or sensitivity
insights … whose truth strikes home to any candid and reflective mind — J.H.Randall
the full significance of this discovery was brought home to him — J.B.Conant
b. : to the point of uncovering underlying facts or truths
questions are asked, parried, pressed home — R.W.Speaight
III. adjective
Etymology: home (I)
1. : of, relating to, or adjacent to a home
the recent decline in home building
yearned for some home cooking
tramped with him over his home acres — Witmer Stone
2.
a. : of or relating to the country or place of origin : domestic , native
home industry
home city
home language
specifically : of or relating to the mother country
gap between the home and the Kenya points of view — Lionel Fleming
b. : of or relating to the vicinity of the home : local
after finishing a preparatory course in the home academy … attended Yale College — F.L.Riley
c. : of or relating to a headquarters or base of operations
home territory
especially of an athletic team
will close their home season today — New York Times
3.
a. : reaching the mark physically or emotionally : well-aimed and effective
dispatched the bull with a dexterous home thrust
this was a very home question — A.R.Smith
b. : being in proximity to or constituting the objective in a game or sport
in Saturday's race he was forced … wide at the home turn — Sydney (Australia) Bulletin
the counter is moved around the board and up the path to the home space
4. : original , normal — used of the position of a machine or its parts
the cylinder travels past the home position, and is then pushed back … against a catch — John Southward
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: home (I)
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to go or return home
a plane homes to its carrier
when school is out a boy homes to his dog and his marbles
specifically of an animal : to return accurately to its home or natal area from a distance
a pigeon homes to its loft
a salmon homes to the stream in which it was spawned
b. : to move toward an objective by following a beam or landmark — usually used with on or in
picked up a radio beam and homed on it toward the fiord — Sloan Wilson
mariners … sought the dark spires of Oakland's redwoods to home on — J.W.Noble
with one engine out of action, the aircraft turned back and homed in on the … radio beacon — U.N. Bulletin
c. : to become guided to a target by an emanation from it — usually used with on or in
the new long-range electric torpedo … homes on the noise of the target ship's propellers — New York Times
keep the missile homing in on the source of heat — Newsweek
2. : to have a home or headquarters
several fine publishers have homed in that marvelous city — H.G.Merriam
transitive verb
1. : to send to or provide with a home
radar installations … homed friendly aircraft to land bases — Crowsnest
hidden pools and much wider creeks each of which homed its cranes — I.L.Idriess
2. : to teach (a pigeon) to return to a loft