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[ hohm -wurk ]
- schoolwork assigned to be done outside the classroom ( distinguished from classwork ).
- a single assignment of such schoolwork: Homeworks are due at the beginning of class.
- paid work done at home , as piecework.
to do one's homework for the next committee meeting.
/ ˈhəʊmˌwɜːk /
- school work done out of lessons, esp at home
- any preparatory study
- work done at home for pay
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Word history and origins.
Origin of homework 1
Idioms and Phrases
Example sentences.
Now, they log on to Zoom from their bedrooms, surrounded by unfinished homework assignments and tattered stuffed animals, waiting to be assigned calls, texts and emails by the trained therapists who oversee the program.
Yow started her homework and saw Frese had gone 35-22 with two winning seasons at Ball State, which hadn’t had a winning record in its previous nine seasons.
Do some homework before investing in a diamond, and that lifelong commitment.
Another poster included an image of their losses over what appeared to be online math homework.
As we countdown to Inauguration Day, I've been doing my homework—and looking to the past for inspiration.
“I can help my children with their homework and sometimes we text in English at my job,” Santos says.
Scheunemann, meanwhile, had no idea who Spencer was, and did some homework.
She jumped at the chance to watch RT, or jumped at the chance to skip calculus homework.
And we encourage parent-student “contracts,” for class attendance, homework submission and even extra-curriculum activities.
Adicéam did his homework, spending 50 days collecting pieces, many with unexpected stories behind them.
Much of this homework is done by a very bad light and the boy's eyes suffer much.
For homework we have prepared alphabets where the letters are printed in type-writing order.
His parents were always getting angry with him for losing his clothes, or his toys, or his homework.
Only at the time when he was going to Beauregard School, with his homework.
And once a week or twice a week she was sending her homework or something to him.
Related Words
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Look up a word, learn it forever.
/ˌhoʊmˈwʌrk/.
Other forms: homeworks
Any assignment you're expected to complete after school and bring back to class the next day is called homework . Many students make up excuses for not having their homework done. The "My dog ate my homework " excuse doesn't work so well in the digital age.
High school students typically have a lot of homework most days, and often that's true for younger students as well. In college, an increasing amount of school work is done outside of class, as homework (even if you do it in the library, a cafe, or a dorm). Homework originally referred to any work done at home, including cooking and cleaning. The first example of the "school work" meaning dates from the late 1880s.
- noun preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home) synonyms: prep , preparation see more see less type of: school assignment , schoolwork a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher
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- homework (noun)
- Please do/finish your homework .
- She started her algebra homework .
- The candidate did his homework [=studied the issues] before the debate.
| to remove (money) from a bank account |
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Definition of homework noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
- I always do my homework on the bus.
- physics/geography/French, etc. homework
- I still haven't done my geography homework.
- How much homework do you get?
- for homework I have to write up the notes for homework.
- (especially North American English) I have to finish this homework assignment .
- acquire/get/lack (an) education/training/ (British English) (some) qualifications
- receive/provide somebody with training/tuition
- develop/design/plan a curriculum/ (especially British English) course/ (North American English) program/syllabus
- give/go to/attend a class/lesson/lecture/seminar
- hold/run/conduct a class/seminar/workshop
- sign up for/take a course/classes/lessons
- go to/start preschool/kindergarten/nursery school
- be in (North American English) the first, second, etc. grade/ (British English) year 1, 2. etc. (at school)
- study/take/drop history/chemistry/German, etc.
- (British English) leave/finish/drop out of/ (North American English) quit school
- (North American English) graduate high school/college
- be the victim/target of bullying
- (British English) play truant from/ (both British English, informal) bunk off/skive off school (= not go to school when you should)
- (both especially North American English) skip/cut class/school
- (British English) cheat in/ (North American English) cheat on an exam/a test
- get/be given a detention (for doing something)
- be expelled from/be suspended from school
- do your homework/ (British English) revision/a project on something
- work on/write/do/submit an essay/a dissertation/a thesis/an assignment/ (North American English) a paper
- finish/complete your dissertation/thesis/studies/coursework
- hand in/ (North American English) turn in your homework/essay/assignment/paper
- study/prepare/ (British English) revise/ (North American English) review/ (North American English, informal) cram for a test/an exam
- take/ (both British English) do/sit a test/an exam
- (especially British English) mark/ (especially North American English) grade homework/a test
- (British English) do well in/ (North American English) do well on/ (especially North American English, informal) ace a test/an exam
- pass/fail/ (especially North American English, informal) flunk a test/an exam/a class/a course/a subject
- apply to/get into/go to/start college/ (British English) university
- leave/graduate from law school/college/ (British English) university (with a degree in computer science)
- study for/take/ (British English) do/complete a law degree/a degree in physics
- (both North American English) major/minor in biology/philosophy
- earn/receive/be awarded/get/have/hold a master’s degree/a bachelor’s degree/a PhD in economics
- Have you finished your homework?
- Have you done your physics homework yet?
- I was helping my sister with her maths homework.
- The homework assignments are worth 10% of the final grade.
- I have some homework to do on the Civil War.
- I want you to hand in this homework on Friday.
- The science teacher always gives a lot of homework.
- They get a lot of homework in English.
- They get masses of homework at secondary school.
- We had to write out one of the exercises for homework.
- for homework
- homework on
Take your English to the next level
The Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus explains the difference between groups of similar words. Try it for free as part of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app
How is the noun homework pronounced?
British english, u.s. english, where does the noun homework come from.
Earliest known use
The earliest known use of the noun homework is in the mid 1600s.
OED's earliest evidence for homework is from 1653, in the writing of Edmund Chillenden, parliamentarian army officer and General Baptist leader.
homework is formed within English, by compounding.
Etymons: home n. 1 , work n.
Nearby entries
- homeward-bounder, n. 1837–
- homeward-bound pennant, n. 1853–
- homewardly, adv. 1797–
- homewards, adv. & adj. Old English–
- homeware, n. 1782–
- home waters, n. 1838–
- home wear, n. 1836–
- home-whining, n. a1657
- home wind, n. 1732–
- home-woe, n. 1838–
- homework, n. 1653–
- homework club, n. 1900–
- homework diary, n. 1973–
- homeworker, n. 1843–
- homeworking, n. 1844–
- home-working, adj. 1850–
- home worship, n. 1849–
- homewort, n. Old English–
- home-wreck, n. 1845–
- home-wrecker, n. 1878–
- home-wrecking, n. 1878–
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Meaning & use
Pronunciation, compounds & derived words, entry history for homework, n..
homework, n. was revised in September 2011.
homework, n. was last modified in July 2023.
oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:
- further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into homework, n. in July 2023.
Earlier versions of this entry were published in:
A Supplement to the New English Dictionary (1933)
- Find out more
OED Second Edition (1989)
- View homework in OED Second Edition
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Citation details
Factsheet for homework, n., browse entry.
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How to use homework in a sentence. piecework done at home for pay; an assignment given to a student to be completed outside the regular class period… See the full definition
Homework definition: schoolwork assigned to be done outside the classroom (distinguished from classwork).. See examples of HOMEWORK used in a sentence.
Definition of homework. Synonyms for homework. She started her algebra homework. The girls hugged Max, went up to their rooms, and did their homework. —. Allegra Goodman, The New Yorker , 20 Feb. 2023. Told to stop playing, to do their homework, to go to school. —. Kate Cray, The Atlantic , 4 Jan. 2023.
homework: 1 n preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home) Synonyms: prep , preparation Type of: school assignment , schoolwork a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher
HOMEWORK definition: 1. work that teachers give their students to do at home: 2. work that teachers give their students…. Learn more.
homework in American English. (ˈhoumˌwɜːrk) noun. 1. schoolwork assigned to be done outside the classroom ( distinguished from classwork) 2. paid work done at home, as piecework. 3. thorough preparatory study of a subject.
Definition of homework noun in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
1. : work that a student is given to do at home. Please do/finish your homework. She started her algebra homework. — compare classwork. 2. : research or reading done in order to prepare for something — used in the phrase do your homework. The candidate did his homework [=studied the issues] before the debate.
Homework definition: Work, such as schoolwork or piecework, that is done at home.
The homework assignments are worth 10% of the final grade. I have some homework to do on the Civil War. I want you to hand in this homework on Friday. The science teacher always gives a lot of homework. They get a lot of homework in English. They get masses of homework at secondary school. We had to write out one of the exercises for homework.
homework - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums. All Free. ... Look up "homework" at Merriam-Webster Look up "homework" at dictionary.com. Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks. In other languages: Spanish ...
Synonyms for HOMEWORK: schoolwork, lesson, reading, lecture, assignment, practise, practice, exercise, drill, study
HOMEWORK definition: 1. work that teachers give students to do at home: 2. to prepare carefully for a situation: . Learn more.
homework, n. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary
HOMEWORK meaning: 1. work that teachers give their students to do at home: 2. work that teachers give their students…. Learn more.
homework meaning, definition, what is homework: work that a student at school is asked t...: Learn more.
Student Dictionary for Kids. Search an online dictionary written specifically for young students. Kid-friendly meanings from the reference experts at Merriam-Webster help students build and master vocabulary.
The meaning of homework. Definition of homework. English dictionary and integrated thesaurus for learners, writers, teachers, and students with advanced, intermediate, and beginner levels.
homework meaning: work that teachers give students to do at home: . Learn more.
homework Noun is a type of : school assignment , schoolwork - a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher
Definition of homework in the Definitions.net dictionary. Meaning of homework. What does homework mean? Information and translations of homework in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Login . The STANDS4 Network. ABBREVIATIONS; ANAGRAMS; BIOGRAPHIES; CALCULATORS; CONVERSIONS; DEFINITIONS; GRAMMAR; LITERATURE;
Homework, or homework assignment, refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, problems to be solved, a school project to be built, or other skills to be practiced. Read more.
homework - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums. All Free. ... 'homework' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations): assign - assist - bone - classwork - crib - do - get on - loiter - peg - preparation - pump - schoolwork - study hall - task.