home screen

noun

1

: 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.

… introduced … the ability to customize your home screen.

—Zachary McAuliffe

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

—James Titcomb

[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

2

: 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

Examples of home screen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At launch, Netflix says the game will take over every subscriber’s home screen — giving it the widest possible marketing campaign — and users will instantly be able to play after scanning the QR code with their phone. —Jennifer Maas, Variety, 4 June 2026

Currently, the app’s home screen is a jumble of daily plans, ads to purchase Lightning Lanes and PhotoPass pictures. —Megan Dubois, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026

One thing that isn’t changing is the large ad on the right side of the Roku home screen. —Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 27 May 2026

Roku TVs and streaming devices in the US will start seeing the new home screen today. —Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for home screen

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

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