- [countable, uncountable] the house or flat that you live in, especially with your family
- Most older people prefer to stay in their own homes.
- His children were upset when he sold the family home.
- While travelling she missed the comforts of home.
- She leaves home at 7 every day.
- He left home (= left his parents and began an independent life) at sixteen.
- The floods forced many people to flee their homes.
- from home I'll call you from home later.
- stray dogs needing new homes
Extra ExamplesTopics Houses and homesa1- We are not far from my home now.
- He didn't leave home until he was 24.
- He used to spend the summer painting at his country home.
- A family of four was rescued early this morning when fire ripped through their terraced home.
- She left home and began an independent life at sixteen.
- It's no longer unusual for young people over 25 to still live in the family home.
- Let's go home—I'm tired.
- The centre provides an adoption programme for pets needing new homes.
- Perhaps we could find a home for the kitten.
- Make sure you insure your home contents for an adequate amount.
- The banner said ‘Welcome home dad!’
- The lock-up garage provides a secure home for your car.
- The people abandoned their homes and headed for the hills.
- a shelter for people with no permanent home
- a temporary home for the paintings
- I would rather stay at home and watch TV.
- More than a million people were forced to flee their homes to escape the fighting.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- family
- marital
- matrimonial
- …
- be away from
- get away from
- leave
- …
- address
- number
- background
- …
- at home
- away from home
- back home
- …
- a home away from home
- a home from home
- home sweet home
- …
Definitions on the go
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- [countable] a house or flat, 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.
- He'd always dreamed of owning his own home.
- Buying a home can be a complicated business.
- The number of homes sold in January fell by 13% on the previous month.
- Private home ownership is increasing faster than ever.
- They applied for a home improvement loan.
Collocations Decorating and home improvementDecorating and home improvementHouses- refurbish/renovate/ (British English) do up a building/a house
- convert a building/house/room into homes/offices/(especially North American English) apartments/(British English) flats
- extend/enlarge a house/building/room/kitchen
- build (British English) an extension (to the back/rear of a house)/(North American English) an addition (on/to something)/(British English) a conservatory
- knock down/demolish a house/home/building/wall
- knock out/through the wall separating two rooms
- furnish/paint/ (especially British English) decorate a home/a house/an apartment/a flat/a room
- be decorated in bright colours/in a traditional style/with flowers/with paintings
- paint/plaster the walls/ceiling
- hang/put up/strip off/remove the wallpaper
- install/replace/remove the bathroom fixtures/(British English) fittings
- build/put up shelves
- lay wooden flooring/timber decking/floor tiles/a carpet/a patio
- put up/hang/take down a picture/painting/poster/curtain
- do (British English) DIY/carpentry/the plumbing/the wiring
- make home improvements
- add/install central heating/underfloor heating/insulation
- fit/install double-glazing/a smoke alarm
- insulate your house/your home/the walls/the pipes/the tanks/(especially British English) the loft
- fix/repair a roof/a leak/a pipe/the plumbing/a leaking (especially British English) tap/(North American English usually) faucet
- block/clog (up)/unblock/unclog a pipe/sink
- make/drill/fill a hole
- hammer (in)/pull out/remove a nail
- tighten/untighten/loosen/remove a screw
- saw/cut/treat/stain/varnish/paint wood
Collocations Moving houseMoving house Rentingsee also manufactured home, mobile home, second home, stately home- live in a rented/(especially North American English) rental property
- rent/share/move into a furnished house/(British English) flat/(especially North American English) apartment
- rent a studio/(British English) a studio flat/(especially North American English) a studio apartment/(British English) a bedsit
- find/get a housemate/(British English) a flatmate/(North American English) a roommate
- sign/break the lease/rental agreement/contract
- extend/renew/terminate the lease/(British English) tenancy
- afford/pay the rent/the bills/(North American English) the utilities
- (especially British English) fall behind with/ (especially North American English) fall behind on the rent
- pay/lose/return a damage deposit/(North American English) security deposit
- give/receive a month’s/two-weeks’ notice to leave/vacate the property
- have a flat/an apartment/a room (British English) to let/(especially North American English) for rent
- rent (out)/lease (out)/ (British English) let (out)/sublet a flat/an apartment/a house/a property
- collect/increase/raise the rent
- evict the existing tenants
- attract/find new/prospective tenants
- invest in rental property/(British English) property to let/(British English) the buy-to-let market
- buy/acquire/purchase a house/(a) property/(especially North American English) (a piece of) prime real estate
- call/contact/use (British English) an estate agent/(North American English) a Realtor™/(North American English) a real estate agent/broker
- make/ (British English) put in an offer on a house
- put down/save for (British English) a deposit on a house
- make/put/save for (especially North American English) a down payment on a house/home
- apply for/arrange/take out a mortgage/home loan
- (struggle to) pay the mortgage
- make/meet/keep up/cover the monthly mortgage payments/(British English also) repayments
- (British English) repossess/ (especially North American English) foreclose on somebody’s home/house
- put your house/property on the market/up for sale/up for auction
- increase/lower your price/the asking price
- have/hold/hand over the deed/(especially British English) deeds of/to the house, land, etc.
Extra ExamplesTopics Buildingsa2- We bought a holiday home in France.
- The storm wrecked the family's caravan home.
- They also have a holiday home in Spain.
- They also have a weekend home in the Catskills.
- They designed and built their own home.
- They found their dream home on the shore of a lake.
- You could lose your home if you don't keep up mortgage payments.
- Over three-quarters of the UK's home owners have a mortgage.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- beautiful
- comfortable
- nice
- …
- own
- buy
- purchase
- …
- buyer
- owner
- ownership
- …
- [countable, uncountable] 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.
- be home to somebody Jamaica is home to over two million people.
Extra Examples- She left her native home in Ireland and went to America.
- She made her home in Spain.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- family
- marital
- matrimonial
- …
- be away from
- get away from
- leave
- …
- address
- number
- background
- …
- at home
- away from home
- back home
- …
- a home away from home
- a home from home
- home sweet home
- …
- [countable] used to refer to a family living together, and the way it behaves
- She came from a violent home.
- They wanted to give the boy a secure and loving home.
- He had always wanted a real home with a wife and children.
Extra ExamplesTopics Family and relationshipsa2- He came from an appalling home background.
- More and more children in the school are from single-parent homes.
- Placing a child in public care is sometimes the only solution to ill-treatment in the natural home.
- She had never had a stable home life.
- We have to provide a good home for the children.
- These children badly need a stable and secure home life.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- family
- marital
- matrimonial
- …
- be away from
- get away from
- leave
- …
- address
- number
- background
- …
- at home
- away from home
- back home
- …
- a home away from home
- a home from home
- home sweet home
- …
- [countable] a place where people who cannot care for themselves live and are cared for by others
- a children’s home
- a residential home for young people with learning disabilities
- in a home She has lived in a home since she was six.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- care
- children’s
- convalescent
- …
- run
- [countable] a place where pets with no owner are taken care of
- a dogs’/cats’ home
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- care
- children’s
- convalescent
- …
- run
- [singular, uncountable] the place where a plant or animal usually lives; the place where somebody/something can be found
- This region is the home of many species of wild flower.
- The tiger's home is in the jungle.
- Beverly Hills is the home of the stars.
- home to somebody/something The Rockies are home to bears and mountain lions.
- Arizona is home to the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest.
Extra Examples- The hill is the legendary home of King Arthur.
- These birds are in danger of becoming extinct as their forest home disappears.
- The mudflats offer a winter home to thousands of migrating swans.
- I arranged to meet her in her office, as she seemed more relaxed on her home territory.
- [countable] (informal) a place where an object is kept
- We haven't found a home for all our books yet.
- [singular] the home of something the place where something was first discovered, made or invented
- New Orleans, the home of jazz
- Greece, the home of democracy
- Andalusia, the home of flamenco
house, etc.
town/country
family
for old people/children
for pets
of plant/animal
where something is kept
where something first done
Word OriginOld English hām, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heem and German Heim.
Idioms
See home in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee home in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishat home
- in a person’s own house, flat, etc.
- I called round last night, but you weren't at home.
- Oh no, I left my purse at home.
- He lived at home (= with his parents) until he was thirty.
- comfortable and relaxed
- Sit down and make yourself at home.
- Simon feels very at home on a horse.
- (used especially in journalism) in somebody’s own country, not in a foreign country
- The president is not as popular at home as he is abroad.
- if a sports team plays at home, it plays in the town, etc. that it comes from
- Leeds are playing at home this weekend.
- Is the match on Saturday at home or away?
away from home
- away from a person’s own house, flat, etc.
- He works away from home during the week.
- I don't want to be away from home for too long.
- Her job means she's away from home for weeks at a time.
- if a sports team plays away from home, it plays in the town, etc. that its opponent comes from
- The side has scored 24 goals away from home this season.
- The team are playing away from home.
charity begins at home
- (saying) you should help and care for your own family, etc. before you start helping other people
close to home
- if a remark or topic of discussion is close to home, it is accurate or connected with you in a way that makes you uncomfortable or embarrassed
- Her remarks about me were embarrassingly close to home.
- that involves somebody directly
- The next year tragedy struck much closer to home.
eat somebody out of house and home
- (informal, often humorous) to eat a lot of somebody else’s food
- How much longer is he staying? He’s eating us out of house and home.
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spick and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
a home from home (British English)
(North American English a home away from home)
- a place where you feel relaxed and comfortable as if you were in your own home
- The guests are made to feel that the hotel is a home from home.
- The hotel's friendly atmosphere makes it a real home (away) from home.
home is where the heart is
- (saying) a home is where the people you love are
home sweet home
- (often ironic) used to say how pleasant your home is (especially when you really mean that it is not pleasant at all)
a man’s home is his castle (US English)
(British English an Englishman’s home is his castle)
- (saying) a person’s home is a place where they can be private and safe and do as they like
set up home
- (British English) (used especially about a couple) to start living in a new place
- They got married and set up home together in Hull.
your spiritual home
- the place where you are happiest, especially a country where you feel you belong more than in your own country because you share the ideas and attitudes of the people who live there
- When she moved to Italy, she knew she'd found her true spiritual home.
- The first time he visited New Orleans he knew he had found his spiritual home.
- I had always thought of India as my spiritual home.
when he’s, it’s, etc. at home
- (British English, humorous) used to emphasize a question about somebody/something
- Who's she when she's at home? (= I don't know her)
work from home
(abbreviation WFH)
- to do your job in your own home, especially a job that is usually done in an office
- I usually work from home on Fridays.
Check pronunciation:
home