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

Options presented included cutting funds for capital projects; reducing operating expenses from the budget; or raising new revenue by increasing the home rule sales tax rate by .25%, adding a 1% food and beverage tax on restaurant purchases, or increasing the property-tax levy by 18%. —Jennifer Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 31 July 2025

Frustrated that his attempt to pass a home rule charter for Douglas County in a special election was going down in flames, Teal accused the opposition of being nefariously funded. —Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 12 July 2025

For the past two years, a quiet war has been simmering in a home rule city in Louisville’s East End. —Keely Doll, The Courier-Journal, 23 June 2025

The Boston City Council unanimously approved a home rule petition that would hike disability pension benefits for a former city schoolteacher who was pummeled by a 16-year-old student in a 2021 attack that left her with traumatic brain damage. —Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 21 May 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