homecoming

noun home·com·ing \ ˈhōm-ˌkə-miŋ \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of homecoming

1 : a return home

a soldier's homecoming

2 : the return of a group of people usually on a special occasion to a place formerly frequented or regarded as home; especially : an annual celebration for alumni at a high school, college, or university —often used before another noun

a homecoming rally

homecoming weekend

the annual homecoming game/dance

was elected the homecoming queen

See homecoming defined for English-language learners

See homecoming defined for kids

Examples of homecoming in a Sentence

A large crowd gathered at the airport for the soldiers' homecoming.

Recent Examples of homecoming from the Web

Having a business in central Phoenix is a sort of homecoming for Hansen and his family.

— jennifer mcclellan, azcentral, "Rito’s Mexican Food bringing its chimichanga to central Phoenix," 16 Apr. 2018
The practices will be a homecoming for Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin, who starred at Dunbar, and running back Todd Gurley, who was born and raised in Baltimore and dominated local Pop Warner leagues until moving to North Carolina as a teenager.

— the baltimore sun, baltimoresun.com, "Ravens, Rams to hold joint practices leading up to Aug. 9 preseason game," 12 Apr. 2018
Anspach studied theater at Catholic University in Washington and was the school's homecoming queen in 1961.

— washington post, latimes.com, "Susan Anspach, actress in 'Five Easy Pieces,' 'Play It Again, Sam,' dies at 75," 8 Apr. 2018
Break out your cosmic notebooks, daydream believers and homecoming queens.

— bess matassa, Teen Vogue, "Weekly Horoscopes November 27-December 3," 5 Apr. 2018
As The Times reports in an excerpt from Morton's new book, Markle was made her high school's homecoming queen in 1998.

— amy mackelden, Marie Claire, "New Meghan Markle Biography Details Her Failed Marriage, and Her Princess Diana Obsession," 2 Apr. 2018
The movie finds its ostensible plot about an hour in, after Billy decides to compete with an evangelical classmate (Abigail Breslin) for the title of homecoming queen.

— glenn kenny, New York Times, "Review: In ‘Freak Show,’ the Boy Who Would be Homecoming Queen," 11 Jan. 2018
The closer the satellite dips toward its fiery homecoming, the fewer the swoops; the fewer the swoops, the more confident Muelhaupt's forecast of where the spacecraft won't come hurtling through the atmosphere.

— robbie gonzalez, WIRED, "All The Places Tiangong-1 Won’t Land (And Where It Still Might)," 30 Mar. 2018
Even now, some of the state’s high schools have separate elections for black and white homecoming court, a practice Columbus High School ended the year after Colom graduated.

— nick tabor, Daily Intelligencer, "What If Prosecutors Wanted to Keep People Out of Prison?," 27 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'homecoming.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of homecoming

15th century

HOMECOMING Defined for English Language Learners

homecoming

noun

Definition of homecoming for English Language Learners

: the act of returning to your home or to a place that is like your home
: an annual celebration for people who attended a college or university
: an annual celebration for high-school students that includes sports games and a formal dance