home
A1Neutral - used in all registers from casual to formal.
Definition
Meaning
The place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household; one's dwelling.
A broader concept encompassing a place of origin, belonging, comfort, safety, or the central focus of an activity.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Uncountable noun when referring to the concept or idea of 'home'. Countable noun when referring to a physical building or structure. Can function metaphorically.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
In British English, 'home' is used in sports contexts (e.g., 'home team', 'at home'). In AmE, 'home' is more commonly used as a verb meaning 'to return to a base' (e.g., 'The missile homed in on the target'). The phrase 'go home' is universal, but BrE has specific idioms like 'home counties' and 'Home Secretary'.
Connotations
Similar strong connotations of safety, family, and belonging in both dialects.
Frequency
Extremely high frequency in both, with slight preference for adverbial use ('I'm going home') without a preposition in AmE, while BrE also commonly uses the prepositional form ('I'm going to my home').
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
be/go/come/arrive/get + home (adverbial)make + (a) home + for/infeel + at + homeleave + homehome + in + onVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Home is where the heart is.”
- “Make yourself at home.”
- “There's no place like home.”
- “Bring home the bacon.”
- “Hit home.”
- “Close to home.”
- “Home away from home.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used in terms like 'home office', 'home page', 'home market', 'work from home'.
Academic
Used in fields like sociology ('home environment'), biology ('home range'), computing ('home directory').
Everyday
The most common context, referring to one's house, family base, or place of belonging.
Technical
In sports ('home advantage'), aviation ('home beacon'), computing ('home key/row'), real estate ('home equity').
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The pigeon homed successfully from over 200 miles away.
- The debate kept homing in on the key issue of funding.
American English
- The laser-guided bomb homed in on the target.
- After years abroad, she homed to her roots in Texas.
adverb
British English
- What time are you coming home?
- He drove the nail home with one firm strike.
American English
- I need to get home before dark.
- The criticism really hit home and made her reconsider.
adjective
British English
- We watched the home match from the stands.
- She enjoys home baking more than buying cakes.
American English
- The home team has a strong advantage.
- We offer home delivery for all our products.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I go home at 5 o'clock.
- My home is in London.
- She is at home today.
- After a long trip, it's nice to be back home.
- They made their home in a small village.
- He left home when he was eighteen.
- The new policy really hit home with young families.
- She runs a business from her home office.
- Despite living abroad for decades, she still considers Scotland her spiritual home.
- The documentary drove home the harsh realities of poverty.
- The concept of 'home' is deeply embedded in the nation's cultural psyche.
- The missile system is designed to home in on heat signatures.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
HOME: Haven Of My Emotions.
Conceptual Metaphor
HOME IS A CONTAINER (for safety, identity); HOME IS A BASE/JOURNEY STARTING POINT; HOME IS A REFUGE.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating 'дома' as 'in home'. Use 'at home'.
- Do not use 'home' for 'дом' when it just means 'building'. Use 'house' for the physical structure.
- 'To go home' is 'идти домой', not 'идти в дом'. No preposition is used in English.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'to' before 'home' in adverbial phrases (e.g., 'I go to home').
- Using 'at' with 'home' when 'home' is the subject (e.g., 'Home is where...' not 'At home is where...').
- Confusing 'house' (building) with 'home' (emotional/lived-in place).
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is 'home' used as an adverb?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is grammatically correct but less common and natural than 'I am going home'. The adverbial form without 'to' and 'my' is the standard, idiomatic usage.
A 'house' is a physical building. A 'home' is where one lives, with connotations of belonging, family, and emotional attachment. A house can become a home.
In this construction, 'home' functions as an adverb of place (like 'here', 'there', 'abroad'), not as a noun. Historically, it comes from the dative case in Old English.
Yes. It means 'to return to a base' (e.g., a pigeon homing) or, more commonly, 'to move or be guided towards a target or destination' (e.g., 'The missile homed in on the plane').
Collections
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