definitions of the word homework

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Definition of homework

Examples of homework in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'homework.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Dictionary Entries Near homework

Cite this entry.

“Homework.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homework. Accessed 9 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of homework, more from merriam-webster on homework.

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for homework

Nglish: Translation of homework for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of homework for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about homework

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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

• arrangement
• construction
• establishment
• preparedness
• qualification

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.

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home•work

An assignment is a task that someone is given to do, usually as part of their job.

An assignment is also a piece of academic work given to students.

In American English, an assignment is also a piece of work given to students to do at home.

Work given to schoolchildren to do at home is also called homework .

Be Careful! Homework is an uncountable noun. You do not talk about 'homeworks' or 'a homework'. Note that you do not say ' I have made my homework '. You say 'I have done my homework'.

Homework is work that school pupils are given to do at home. You say that pupils do homework. Don't say that they ' make homework '.

Housework is work such as cleaning or washing that is done in a house.

Be Careful! Both homework and housework are uncountable nouns. Don't talk about ' a homework ' or ' houseworks '.

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Definition of 'homework'

homework in American English

Homework in british english, examples of 'homework' in a sentence homework, related word partners homework, trends of homework.

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Related terms of homework

• do homework
• school homework
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  Vocabulary      

What does homework mean?

Definitions for homework ˈhoʊmˌwɜrk home·work, this dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word homework ., princeton's wordnet rate this definition: 3.8 / 4 votes.

homework, prep, preparation noun

preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home)

GCIDE Rate this definition: 1.0 / 1 vote

• homework noun

Paid work done at home, especially piecework.

Wiktionary Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes

Work that is done at home, especially school exercises set by a teacher.

You must do your homework before you can watch television.

Preliminary or preparatory work, such as research.

The speaker had certainly done his homework before delivering the lecture.

Wikipedia Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes

Homework is a set of tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the classroom. Common homework assignments may include required reading, a writing or typing project, mathematical exercises to be completed, information to be reviewed before a test, or other skills to be practiced. The effects of homework are debated. Generally speaking, homework does not improve academic performance among young children. Homework may improve academic skills among older students, especially lower-achieving students. However, homework also creates stress for students and parents, and reduces the amount of time that students can spend in other activities.

Wikidata Rate this definition: 4.8 / 4 votes

Homework, or homework assignment, refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside of 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.

Matched Categories

• School Assignment

British National Corpus

Written Corpus Frequency

Rank popularity for the word 'homework' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2123

How to pronounce homework?

Alex US English David US English Mark US English Daniel British Libby British Mia British Karen Australian Hayley Australian Natasha Australian Veena Indian Priya Indian Neerja Indian Zira US English Oliver British Wendy British Fred US English Tessa South African

How to say homework in sign language?

Chaldean Numerology

The numerical value of homework in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

Pythagorean Numerology

The numerical value of homework in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of homework in a Sentence

Kimberly Council :

If any teachers or any administrators find other sites that students havegotten to that we need to block, we can manipulate that filter and add thosesites to it as well. i feel as though if I can just do a small portion to help the students andhelp the parents that don’t have Wi-Fi, that ca n’t help their kids with their homework . It makes me go home and know I did something to make a difference inthat child’s life.

Christopher Boddy :

I originally learned about it in school, but then I'd get stuck on problems that I needed to find the answer to, i'd stay up way later than I should have and postponed homework to get a challenge done.

Molly Schwarzhoff :

They always did their homework , but now they have the opportunity to see board members to see where they stand on the political realm and how they interact with one another before even submitting an application, it's just important that those boards realize that they're being observed, and they're being interviewed. It's a two-way street now. That's kind of what COVID has done is they've opened up this two-way street for interviews.

Erin Haney :

She highlights, she hand writes most things, although she does do some stuff on the computer obviously, but she is really, really invested in not just sort of checking off boxes to get through the homework but in really understanding the concept, one of the things that's been really impressive about Kim is that she consistently connects it to real life and real people, and I think that that's been both helpful in keeping her engaged but also really helpful in her understanding of the law itself.

Patrick Byrne :

It's still confusing to most people -- even our own investors. Very few have done their homework .

Popularity rank by frequency of use

• ^  Princeton's WordNet http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=homework
• ^  GCIDE https://gcide.gnu.org.ua/?q=homework
• ^  Wiktionary https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Homework
• ^  Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homework
• ^  Wikidata https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=homework

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What Is Homework?

Homework is work that teachers give students to complete outside of the school day. Homework is meant to provide students with practice for what was learned in school or an extension of what was done in class. Students are expected to complete the homework and return to school with the completed homework assignment.

Why Do Teachers Give Homework?

Most teachers give students homework so that they can practice something that was taught to them during class.

For example, if a teacher is teaching students how to add decimal numbers then the homework assignment would be for students to try adding decimals at home independently.

In my science class I never give my students homework that isn’t meaningful or practice towards a learning standard.

Gone are the days of giving homework that is “busy work”.

Also, when students return the following day their homework assignment is incorporated into the lesson so they quickly figure out that completing homework is necessary.

Some teachers, myself included, will use homework as a formative assessment.

If you are unsure what formative assessments are then you need to check out this article I wrote recently.

What Does Homework Look Like?

Homework can be almost anything.

Some examples of homework may include a simple worksheet to complete, a long term project, research, reading, a journal entry, completing something online, a drawing, or the continuation of something started in school, and just about anything else.

Homework isn’t limited to one specific thing.

With my eight grade students I have assigned videos for them to watch, creating a slideshow, completing a CER (more about the CER here) , conduct a survey for data collection, and more.

I have even had them collect leaves to identify the following day in our science class!

If you are a teacher reading this make sure to make your homework assignments interesting and worthwhile, don’t just assign homework as busy work.

Do Teachers Have To Give Homework?

No, teachers don’t have to give homework.

Usually teachers have discretion whether or not they are going to assign homework.

Personally, the principal or school district I work for has no idea how often I assign homework or what I assign for homework.

This decision to give or not give homework solely comes down to the classroom teacher.

The Importance Of Homework

The importance of homework is a heavily debated topic these days.

On one hand you have teachers that will say it is necessary that students continue learning outside the classroom in order to be more successful inside the classroom.

On the other hand some teachers will say that homework isn’t necessary as long as students are working hard during the school day.

Another reason homework is seen as not necessary is because students these days are so busy out of school that they don’t have time to complete homework.

Who is right?

I’d say it’s probably somewhere in the middle.

There is nothing wrong with a little homework for students but it shouldn’t be assigned every night.

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I (Allen) am currently teaching at a public school in a western suburb of Chicago. My teaching career started in 2004. Some of my interests outside of teaching is being with my family, biking, playing video games, travelling, and making the Teacher Adviser website.

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Related Words and Phrases

Bottom_desktop desktop:[300x250].

homework (n.)

also home-work , 1680s, "work done at home," as opposed to work done in the shop or factory, from home (n.) + work (n.). In sense of "lessons studied at home," it is attested from 1889. To do (one's) homework in figurative sense "be prepared" is from 1934.

Entries linking to homework

Old English ham "dwelling place, house, abode, fixed residence; estate; village; region, country," from Proto-Germanic *haimaz "home" (source also of Old Frisian hem "home, village," Old Norse heimr "residence, world," heima "home," Danish hjem , Middle Dutch heem , German heim "home," Gothic haims "village"), from PIE *(t)koimo- , suffixed form of root *tkei- "to settle, dwell, be home." As an adjective from 1550s. The old Germanic sense of "village" is preserved in place names and in hamlet .

'Home' in the full range and feeling of [Modern English] home is a conception that belongs distinctively to the word home and some of its Gmc. cognates and is not covered by any single word in most of the IE languages. [Buck]

Slang phrase make (oneself) at home "become comfortable in a place one does not live" dates from 1892 ( at home "at one's ease" is from 1510s). To keep the home fires burning is a song title from 1914. To be nothing to write home about "unremarkable" is from 1907. Home movie is from 1919; home computer is from 1967. Home stretch (1841) is from horse racing (see stretch (n.)). Home economics as a school course first attested 1899; the phrase itself by 1879 (as "household management" is the original literal sense of economy , the phrase is etymologically redundant).

Home as the goal in a sport or game is from 1778. Home base in baseball attested by 1856; home plate by 1867. Home team in sports is from 1869; home field "grounds belonging to the local team" is from 1802 (the 1800 citation in OED 2nd ed. print is a date typo, as it refers to baseball in Spokane Falls). Home-field advantage attested from 1955.

Old English weorc , worc "something done, discrete act performed by someone, action (whether voluntary or required), proceeding, business; that which is made or manufactured, products of labor," also "physical labor, toil; skilled trade, craft, or occupation; opportunity of expending labor in some useful or remunerative way;" also "military fortification." This is from Proto-Germanic *werka- "work" (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch werk , Old Norse verk , Middle Dutch warc , Old High German werah , German Werk , Gothic gawaurki ), from PIE *werg-o- , a suffixed form of the root *werg- "to do."

The meaning "physical effort, exertion" is from c. 1200; that of "scholarly labor" or its productions is from c. 1200; the meaning "artistic labor" or its productions is from c. 1200. The sense of "labor as a measurable commodity" is from c. 1300. The meaning "embroidery, stitchery, needlepoint" is from late 14c.

Work of art attested by 1774 as "artistic creation," earlier (1728) "artifice, production of humans (as opposed to nature)." Work ethic recorded from 1959. To be out of work "unemployed" is from 1590s. To make clean work of is from c. 1300; to make short work of is from 1640s.

Proverbial expression many hands make light work is from c. 1300. To have (one's) work cut out for one is from 1610s; to have it prepared and prescribed, hence, to have all one can handle. Work in progress is from 1930 in a general sense, earlier as a specific term in accountancy and parliamentary procedure.

Work is less boring than amusing oneself. [Baudelaire, "Mon Coeur mis a nu," 1862]

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Dictionary entries near homework

homesickness

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Transcription

• US Pronunciation
• UK Pronunciation
• [ hohm -wurk]
• /ˈhoʊmˌwɜrk/
• /ˈhəʊmwɜːk/

Definitions of homework word

• noun homework schoolwork assigned to be done outside the classroom (distinguished from classwork). 1
• noun homework paid work done at home, as piecework. 1
• noun homework thorough preparatory study of a subject: to do one's homework for the next committee meeting. 1
• noun homework Schoolwork that a student is required to do at home. 1
• noun homework school work 1
• noun homework preparation 1

Information block about the term

Origin of homework, first appearance:, historical comparancy, parts of speech for homework, homework popularity, homework usage trend in literature.

• Synonyms for homework

noun homework

• duty — something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation.
• chore — A chore is a task that you must do but that you find unpleasant or boring.
• appointment — The appointment of a person to a particular job is the choice of that person to do it.
• practice — habitual or customary performance; operation: office practice.
• job — the central figure in an Old Testament parable of the righteous sufferer.
• Antonyms for homework
• unemployment — the state of being unemployed, especially involuntarily: Automation poses a threat of unemployment for many unskilled workers.
• keeping — board and lodging; subsistence; support: to work for one's keep.
• ignorance — the state or fact of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.
• idleness — the quality, state, or condition of being lazy, inactive, or idle: His lack of interest in the larger world and his consummate idleness were the causes of their dreadful divorce.
• inaction — absence of action; idleness.

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Definitions

Homework - as a noun, work, such as schoolwork or piecework, that is done at home, example sentences, word game points, word variations & relations, a-z proximities, add 1 letter to make these words....

What is meaningful work? A philosopher’s view

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Trinity College Dublin

Disclosure statement

Caleb Althorpe receives funding from the Irish Research Council.

Trinity College Dublin provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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Work is an inescapable feature of the modern world. Most of us, except for a lucky few, spend a significant portion of our lives working. If this is the case, we may as well try and make it meaningful. In a 2019 report , 82% of employees reported that it is important to have a purpose in their work and that creating meaningful work was one of their top priorities.

But what exactly makes a particular job an instance of “meaningful work”? Is it just any sort of work people happen to believe is meaningful? Or is it a job with certain objective features?

To answer these questions, we might first think about what makes work meaningless. Take the Greek myth of Sisyphus, whose punishment for misbehaviour was to roll a boulder up a mountain only for it to roll back down just before he reached the top. He had to walk back down and start again, repeating the process forever. Today, we describe laborious and futile tasks as Sisyphean.

The gods knew what they were doing with this punishment – anyone who has spent time doing Sisyphean tasks in their work will understand how soul crushing they can be.

Fyodor Dostoevsky certainly understood this. Partly informed by his own experience in a labour camp, the novelist wrote that : “If one wanted to crush and destroy a man entirely … all one would have to do would be to make him do work that was completely and utterly devoid of usefulness and meaning.”

This article is run in partnership with HowTheLightGetsIn , the world’s largest ideas and music festival, which returns to Hay-on-Wye from May 24-27. On Sunday, May 26, The Conversation’s Avery Anapol will host a live event delving into whether “meaningful work” exists in today’s age. Check out the festival’s full line-up of speakers and don’t miss an exclusive 20% off tickets with code CONVO24.

People may believe such Sisyphean tasks are meaningful (maybe this is the only thing that makes it bearable), but is this belief alone enough to make it so? Many philosophers don’t think so. Instead, they argue that for an activity to be meaningful, it must also contribute to some goal or end that connects the person doing it to something larger than themselves. As philosopher Susan Wolf puts it, meaning requires seeing “one’s life as valuable in a way that can be recognised from a point of view other than one’s own”.

In my own research into the meaning of work, I argue that for a job to be meaningful, it requires some objective feature to connect the worker with a larger framework that extends beyond themselves.

This feature, I suggest, is social contribution: are you making a positive difference with your work? Is your work useful, and does it help others carry out their lives? Confidently answering “yes” to these questions places your work in the larger context of society.

Sisyphean work clearly fails against this standard of social contribution, and so cannot be meaningful. There are, at least according to some studies , a surprising number of jobs like this in modern economies. The recent penchant for “lazy girl jobs” and “fake email jobs” suggest that some young people may actually be seeking out such work as a way to maintain a healthier work-life balance and separate their sense of self from their job.

Read more: This philosophical theory can help you stop taking criticism personally

Another implication of my view is that work cannot be meaningful if it not only fails to help others but actually harms them. Examples might be marketing intentionally defective products, or working in sectors that contribute to the environmental crisis and all its affiliated harms. The phenomenon of “climate quitting” (leaving an employer for environmental reasons) could be seen as the result of people deciding to quit out of a desire for meaningful work.

These examples suggest that a job will not automatically be meaningful just because it contributes to the economy. While market value and social value sometimes overlap (for example, working in a supermarket helps put food in people’s stomachs), these two kinds of value can come apart.

We must think about who benefits from our work, whether their social position means this benefit comes at the cost of others being harmed, and whether there are likely to be unintended negative consequences from our work.

Meaningful work within organisations

On top of just asking whether some jobs positively contribute to others, I also suggest that work will struggle to be meaningful when workers do not experience their contributions as palpable. In other words, can you see the contribution you are making in your work, or do you feel abstract and removed?

This is especially relevant to people with jobs in complex companies or large organisations. Most companies do not give ordinary workers influence over big decisions that affect how the company operates in society (such as decisions about what product to produce or service to offer, which markets it operates in and so on). Instead, this influence is limited to managers and executives.

As a result, workers can easily become disconnected and alienated from the social contribution contained in their work, thereby preventing it from being meaningful for them. Take the following from an auditor of a large bank : “Most people at the bank didn’t know why they were doing what they were doing. They would say that they are only supposed to log into this one system … and type certain things in. They didn’t know why.”

The issue here isn’t that the workers aren’t contributing (banks have an important social function after all), but that in their day-to-day work they are completely removed from how they are contributing.

One way to make more work more meaningful for more people would be to think about how large organisations could more democratically involve workers in these sorts of decisions. This could mean giving workers veto powers over strategic decisions, having worker representatives on company boards , or even turning the company into a worker cooperative .

Research suggests democratic arrangements like these can help people find a sense of meaning in their work by connecting them more closely to the positive outcomes that result from it.

A fan of cutting-edge debate and putting ideas at the centre of public life? Then you won’t want to miss HowTheLightGetsIn, the world’s largest ideas and music festival this spring. Returning to Hay-on-Wye from May 24-27, the event will convene world-leading thinkers and Nobel prize-winners including David Petraeus, Roger Penrose, Daniel Dennett, Amy Chua, Peter Singer and Sophie Scott-Brown. A remedy to online echo-chambers, the festival unites speakers across disciplines to chart tangible solutions to the crises of our era.

And don’t miss The Conversation’s live event at the festival on Sunday, May 26 with Avery Anapol delving into whether “meaningful work” exists in today’s age. We’re delighted to offer 20% off tickets with the code CONVO24. Get discounted tickets here .

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(Definition of homework from the Cambridge Essential Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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