home screen

noun

1

: television sense 2

… it's the kind of movie that plays better on the home screen, where you're less likely to miss any of the fiendishly witty lines of the screenplay … and can replay some of the stunning special effects.

—Molly Haskell

TV viewers soon may be seeing some of their black-and-white film favorites blushing with new color on the home screen.

—Ron Miller

2

: the graphical user interface that is displayed by default by an electronic device (such as a smartphone or computer) or software application and that provides quick access to commonly used functions, settings, etc.

[Journalist Catherine] Price's suggestions range from the extreme, such as a "digital sabbath" during which you turn your phone off for 24 hours, to the seemingly slight, such as reorganising your phone's home screen so you can't see the bright, tempting colours of your favourite apps the second you turn it on.

—Caroline Crampton

The Netflix interface—the home screen that greets users when they open the app—is constantly evolving.

—James Titcomb

Examples of home screen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To view energy usage reports, tap the three lines in the upper right corner of the home screen and scroll down to the Energy Consumption tab. —PC Magazine, 5 July 2025

Working with Roku will expose the nine-year-old brand to yet more potential fans, with ads ranging from the platform’s home screen to video spots across Roku’s inventory. —Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 2 July 2025

For comparison, some TV OSes, like Roku OS and LG's webOS, show ads on the OS's home screen and/or when showing screensavers. —ArsTechnica, 1 June 2025

The iOS 26 home screen with an optional all-glass theme. —Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 10 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for home screen

• acrolein
• adenine
• alkylene
• aniline
• anthracene
• aquiline
• asphaltene
• atlantean
• atrazine
• butadiene
• butylene
• caesarean

Kids Definition

home screen

noun

1

: television

2

: the graphical user interface that is displayed by default by an electronic device (as a smartphone or computer) or software application and that provides quick access to commonly used functions and settings