What does "home" mean?
Home: One's own dwelling place; the house in which one lives; esp., the house in which one lives with his family; the habitual abode of one's family; also, one's birthplace. The disciples went away again to their own home. John xx.
Additional senses
- 2.Home is the sacred refuge of our life. Dryden. Home! home! sweet, sweet home! There's no place like home. Payne.
- 3.One's native land; the place or country in which one dwells; the place where one's ancestors dwell or dwelt. "Our old home [England]." Hawthorne.
- 4.The abiding place of the affections, especially of the domestic affections. He entered in his house -- his home no more, For without hearts there is no home. Byron.
- 5.The locality where a thing is usually found, or was first found, or where it is naturally abundant; habitat; seat; as, the home of the pine. Her eyes are homes of silent prayer. Tennyson. Flandria, by plenty made the home of war. Prior.
- 6.A place of refuge and rest; an asylum; as, a home for outcasts; a home for the blind; hence, esp., the grave; the final rest; also, the native and eternal dwelling place of the soul. Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets. Eccl. xii.
- 7.6. (Baseball) The home base; he started for home. At home.(a) At one's own house, or lodgings. (b) In one's own town or country; as, peace abroad and at home. (c) Prepared to receive callers. -- Home department, the department of executive administration, by which the internal affairs of a country are managed. [Eng.] To be at home on any subject, to be conversant or familiar with it. -- To feel at home, to be at one's ease. -- To make one's self at home, to conduct one's self with as much freedom as if at home.
- 8.Of or pertaining to one's dwelling or country; domestic; not foreign; as home manufactures; home comforts.
- 9.Close; personal; pointed; as, a home thrust. Home base (Baseball), the base at which the batsman stands and which is the last goal in making a run. -- Home farm, grounds, etc., the farm, grounds, etc., adjacent to the residence of the owner. -- Home lot, an inclosed plot on which the owner's home stands. [U. S.] -- Home rule, rule or government of an appendent or dependent country, as to all local and internal legislation, by means of a governing power vested in the people within the country itself, in contradistinction to a government established by the dominant country; as, home rule in Ireland. Also used adjectively; as, home- rule members of Parliament. -- Home ruler, one who favors or advocates home rule. -- Home run (Baseball), a complete circuit of the bases made before the batted ball is returned to the home base. -- Home stretch (Sport.), that part of a race course between the last curve and the winning post. -- Home thrust, a well directed or effective thrust; one that wounds in a vital part; hence, in controversy, a personal attack.
- 10.To one's home or country; as in the phrases, go home, come home, carry home.
- 11.Close; closely. How home the charge reaches us, has been made out. South. They come home to men's business and bosoms. Bacon.
- 12.To the place where it belongs; to the end of a course; to the full length; as, to drive a nail home; to ram a cartridge home. Wear thy good rapier bare and put it home. Shak. Note: Home is often used in the formation of compound words, many of which need no special definition; as, home-brewed, home-built, home- grown, etc. To bring home. See under Bring. -- To come home.(a) To touch or affect personally. See under Come. (b) (Naut.) To drag toward the vessel, instead of holding firm, as the cable is shortened; -- said of an anchor. -- To haul home the sheets of a sail (Naut.), to haul the clews close to the sheave hole. Totten.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/answers/what-does-home-mean
- Steward: Jason Burns
- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00