Standard Lemma guide

homewards

adj · adv · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Leading toward home.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • At the end of the day we gratefully set off in a homewards direction.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adv

Meaning 2

towards home

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • We're now heading homewards.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adverb

Meaning 3

toward home

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • fought his way homeward through the deep snow

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: homeward

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English homwardes, hamwardes, from Old English hāmweardes, equivalent to home + -wards. Cognate with Dutch heimwaarts, German heimwärts (“homewards”).

Across languages

Translations

46 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: дадо́му (dadómu) — leading toward home
  • Chinese Mandarin: 回家 (huíjiā) — leading toward home
  • Czech: domů — leading toward home
  • Dutch: heemwaarts — leading toward home
  • Dutch: huiswaarts — leading toward home
  • Faroese: heim — leading toward home
  • Finnish: kotiin — leading toward home
  • Finnish: kotiin päin — leading toward home
  • Finnish: kotia kohti — leading toward home
  • Finnish: kotiin menevä — leading toward home
  • French: à la maison — leading toward home
  • German: nach Hause — leading toward home
  • German: heim — leading toward home
  • German: heimwärts — leading toward home
  • Hebrew: הביתה (habáyta) — leading toward home
  • Hungarian: hazafelé — leading toward home
  • Hungarian: haza — leading toward home
  • Irish: abhaile — leading toward home
  • Japanese: 家へ向かって (uchi e mukatte) — leading toward home
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hjemover — leading toward home
  • Old Norse: heim — leading toward home
  • Penobscot: wigwomwok — leading toward home
  • Polish: skierowany ku domowi — leading toward home
  • Portuguese: para casa — leading toward home
  • Romansh: a chasa — leading toward home
  • Romansh: a casa — leading toward home
  • Romansh: a tgea — leading toward home
  • Romansh: a tgeasa — leading toward home
  • Romansh: a tgesa — leading toward home
  • Romansh: a chesa — leading toward home
  • Russian: восвоя́си (vosvojási) — leading toward home
  • Russian: домо́й (domój) — leading toward home
  • Russian: направля́ющийся домо́й (napravljájuščijsja domój) — leading toward home
  • Russian: к до́му (k dómu) — leading toward home
  • Scots: hame-throu — leading toward home
  • Scottish Gaelic: dhachaigh — leading toward home
  • Serbo-Croatian: кући — leading toward home
  • Serbo-Croatian: kući — leading toward home
  • Slovak: domov — leading toward home
  • Slovene: domôv — leading toward home
  • Swedish: hemåt — leading toward home
  • Turkish: eve — leading toward home
  • Ukrainian: додо́му (dodómu) — leading toward home
  • Welsh: adref — leading toward home
  • Welsh: adre — leading toward home
  • Yiddish: אַהיים (aheym) — leading toward home