home rule

noun

: self-government or limited autonomy in internal affairs by a dependent political unit (such as a territory or municipality)

Examples of home rule in a Sentence

The citizens petitioned for home rule.

Recent Examples on the Web

As the campaign over home rule heats up with billboards and signs sprouting up along Interstate 25 and other places in Douglas County, the political temperature is rising as well. —John Aguilar, Denver Post, 8 June 2025

Voters that year modernized the state’s governing document in so many ways taken for granted today, such as home rule powers of cities and counties or the requirement for an annual 60-day session of the Legislature. —Steve Bousquet, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 May 2025

Staff presented two possibilities: adopt the 1% local grocery tax or increase Naperville’s home rules sales tax by 0.25%. —Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2025

And the product of a bygone era, Wholesale Laundry was decided before home rule was solidified in New York. —Paul Sonn, New York Daily News, 4 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for home rule

• minuscule
• molecule
• overrule
• poiseuille
• reticule
• ridicule
• vestibule
• ampoule
• bascule
• carpool
• cesspool
• ferrule

Kids Definition

home rule

noun

: self-government in local affairs by the citizens of a local political unit

Legal Definition

home rule

noun

: self-government or limited autonomy in internal affairs by a dependent political unit (as a territory or municipality)

also : the political theory or principle of self-government