[hohm] 
noun, adjective, adverb, verb, homed, hom⋅ing.| 1. | a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household. |
| 2. | the place in which one's domestic affections are centered. |
| 3. | an institution for the homeless, sick, etc.: a nursing home. |
| 4. | the dwelling place or retreat of an animal. |
| 5. | the place or region where something is native or most common. |
| 6. | any place of residence or refuge: a heavenly home. |
| 7. | a person's native place or own country. |
| 8. | (in games) the destination or goal. |
| 9. | a principal base of operations or activities: The new stadium will be the home of the local football team. |
| 10. | Baseball. home plate. |
| 11. | Lacrosse. one of three attack positions nearest the opposing goal. |
| 12. | of, pertaining to, or connected with one's home or country; domestic: home products. |
| 13. | principal or main: the corporation's home office. |
| 14. | reaching the mark aimed at: a home thrust. |
| 15. | Sports. played in a ball park, arena, or the like, that is or is assumed to be the center of operations of a team: The pitcher didn't lose a single home game all season. Compare away (def. 11). |
| 16. | to, toward, or at home: to go home. |
| 17. | deep; to the heart: The truth of the accusation struck home. |
| 18. | to the mark or point aimed at: He drove the point home. |
| 19. | Nautical.
|
| 20. | to go or return home. |
| 21. | (of guided missiles, aircraft, etc.) to proceed, esp. under control of an automatic aiming mechanism, toward a specified target, as a plane, missile, or location (often fol. by in on): The missile homed in on the target. |
| 22. | to navigate toward a point by means of coordinates other than those given by altitudes. |
| 23. | to have a home where specified; reside. |
| 24. | to bring or send home. |
| 25. | to provide with a home. |
| 26. | to direct, esp. under control of an automatic aiming device, toward an airport, target, etc. |
| 27. | at home,
|
| 28. | bring home to, to make evident to; clarify or emphasize for: The irrevocability of her decision was brought home to her. |
| 29. | home and dry, British Informal. having safely achieved one's goal. |
| 30. | home free,
|
| 31. | write home about, to comment especially on; remark on: The town was nothing to write home about. His cooking is really something to write home about. |
" 'Home' in the full range and feeling of NE home is a conception that belongs distinctively to the word home and some of its Gmc. cognates and is not covered by any single word in most of the IE languages." [Buck]The verb meaning "to be guided to a destination by radio signals, etc. (of missiles, aircraft, etc.) is from 1920; it had been used earlier in ref. to homing pigeons (1875). Home stretch (1841) is originally a reference from horse racing. Homebody is from 1821. Homeroom in the U.S. schools sense is first recorded 1915. Home-made is from 1659. Homeland first recorded 1670. Homeless is from 1615. Home economics first attested 1899. Homespun is from 1590 in the literal sense of "spun at home; 1600 in the fig. sense of "plain, homely." Home page first attested 1993. Slang phrase make (oneself) at home "become comfortable in a place one does not live" dates from 1892. To keep the home fires burning is from a song title from 1914.
