homework oxford dictionary definition

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Definition of 'homework'

Video: pronunciation of homework

homework in British English

Homework in american english, examples of 'homework' in a sentence homework, cobuild collocations homework, trends of homework.

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• homeward journey
• homework assignment
• homework club
• homework diary
• All ENGLISH words that begin with 'H'

Related terms of homework

• do homework
• school homework
• homework exercise
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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 6 Apr. 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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• 1.1 Etymology
• 1.2 Pronunciation
• 1.3.1 Usage notes
• 1.3.2 Hypernyms
• 1.3.3 Coordinate terms
• 1.3.4 Derived terms
• 1.3.5 Translations
• 1.4 See also
• 1.5 References
• 1.6 Anagrams

English [ edit ]

Etymology [ edit ].

From home +‎ work .

Pronunciation [ edit ]

• ( Received Pronunciation ) IPA ( key ) : /ˈhəʊmˌwɜːk/
• ( General American ) IPA ( key ) : /ˈhoʊmˌwɝk/

Noun [ edit ]

homework ( usually uncountable , plural homeworks )

• 2013 July 1, Peter Wilby , “Finland's education ambassador spreads the word”, in The Guardian ‎ [1] , archived from the original on 2022-10-15 : Even 15-year-olds do no more than 30 minutes' homework a night.
• 2023 January 12, Kevin Roose, “Don't Ban ChatGPT in Schools. Teach With It.”, in The New York Times ‎ [2] , archived from the original on 2023-01-17 : And I'm sympathetic to teachers who feel that they have enough to worry about, without adding A.I.-generated homework to the mix.
• 2012 April 10, John Hudson, “North Korea Has a Clumsy Way of Soothing Concerns About Its Rocket Launch”, in The Atlantic ‎ [3] , archived from the original on 2022-01-22 : Since the whole world is watching this launch, they probably should've done some homework on their talking points.
• 2017 May 9, “Mindful sex is better sex, says B.C. researcher promoting new workbook”, in CBC News ‎ [4] , archived from the original on 2022-11-22 : Four years after her first sexual health book came out, Dr. Lori Brotto is giving her readers a little bit of homework for the bedroom.
• 2022 July 18, Donald Mcrae , quoting Michael Yormark, “Roc Nation's Michael Yormark on Romelu Lukaku: 'You have to play to his strengths... I don't think that happened'”, in The Guardian ‎ [5] , archived from the original on 2022-12-26 : I didn't even know who he was until I did my homework and realised he was a premier footballer for Bayern.
• 2023 August 7, Suzanne Wrack , “England beat Nigeria on penalties to reach Women’s World Cup quarter-finals”, in The Guardian ‎ [6] : Nigeria had done their homework and were well organised. Halimatu Ayinde was exceptional in her marking of James, who had scored twice and provided three assists as she ran the show against China.
• 1989 , Eileen Boris, Cynthia R. Daniels, Homework: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Paid Labor at Home , University of Illinois Press , →ISBN , page 241 : Hatch perceived homework to be one tool—along with various workfare schemes and private sector training programs—that would take women off welfare and make poor women "independent."
• 1933 , James T. Farrell , Gas-House McGinty , page 186 : My wife and I want a kid, and we do plenty of homework , but goddamn it, Dutch, I just can't connect.
• ( BDSM ) Tasks assigned by a dominant for a submissive to perform when they are physically away from their dominant or otherwise free.

Usage notes [ edit ]

• ( exercises assigned by a teacher ) The term homework generally implies that the work is mandatory and worth marks; exercises that are optional are usually referred to as practice problems , review problems , extra practice , exercises , etc.
• ( exercises assigned by a teacher ) Work of a larger scale than homework (which involves a series of relatively simple exercises) is usually referred to as an assignment or project .

Hypernyms [ edit ]

Coordinate terms [ edit ], derived terms [ edit ].

• bit of homework
• do one's homework
• homework club
• homework diary
• piece of homework
• the dog ate my homework

Translations [ edit ]

See also [ edit ], references [ edit ], anagrams [ edit ].

• English compound terms
• English 2-syllable words
• English terms with IPA pronunciation
• English terms with audio links
• English lemmas
• English nouns
• English uncountable nouns
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• English terms with usage examples
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• English slang
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• en:Education
• English entries with topic categories using raw markup
• English entries with language name categories using raw markup
• Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations
• Hindi terms with non-redundant manual transliterations
• Urdu terms with redundant transliterations

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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.

thorough preparatory study of a subject: to do one's homework for the next committee meeting.

Origin of homework

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for homework

/ ( ˈhəʊmˌwɜːk ) /

school work done out of lessons, esp at home

any preparatory study

work done at home for pay

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with homework

see do one's homework.

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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Meaning of homework in English

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• The kids are busy with their homework.
• My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.
• "Have you got any homework tonight ?" "No."
• I got A minus for my English homework.
• For homework I want you to write a paper on an endangered species .
• academic year
• access course
• Advanced Placement
• asynchronous
• foundation course
• immersion course
• on a course
• open admissions
• the national curriculum
• work placement

homework | Intermediate English

Homework | business english, examples of homework, translations of homework.

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bits and bobs

small things or jobs of different types

Shoots, blooms and blossom: talking about plants

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What is the meaning of "homework"?

• home theater
• homeward-bound
• homeworking
• homewrecker
• homicidally
• homicide bureau

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Weebs, Rejoice: ‘Isekai’ Is Now In The Oxford Dictionary

T he Oxford English Dictionary (aka the OED) runs an update to its repository four times every year. Like DLC for games, these quarterly patches can introduce new words, features, and definition changes. Well, the first quarter of 2024 is about up, and the OED has just updated its linguistic repository to add 23 Japanese words, including the popular anime and manga genre “isekai.”

As spotted by The Guardian , the OED’s latest update includes Japanese words from the realms of art, cuisine, and elsewhere. The Japanese fried food appetizer “ karaage ,” which I love, made the list, as did “ kintsugi ,” the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer that highlights the flaws. And also in the mix is “ isekai ,” which the OED defines as “a Japanese genre of science or fantasy fiction featuring a protagonist who is transported to or reincarnated in a different, strange, or unfamiliar world. Also: an anime, manga, video game, etc., in this genre.” Think of the anime and manga Sword Art Online ( often called the harbinger of “isekai,” though not technically considered one from a purist standpoint) or the animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie ( which can also be viewed as an “isekai” ) and you’ll get a general idea. Basically, when a character awakens in another world, the OED says you can call it an “isekai.”

While there are two sub-types of the genre—standard ”isekai” or “ other world ” and “isekaitensei” or “ reincarnation into another world ”—in English, ”isekai” is the by far the more widely used term. When in certain nerd spaces, especially those revolving around anime and manga, “isekai” is generally understood to mean any story in which a character finds themself in a world that’s not their own. It seems to be an increasingly popular story format in all types of media, and as such, you’ll often see anime, games, and television described as “isekai.”

We love increasing our vocabulary and learning something new, and we can all rejoice in the fact that “isekai” and numerous other Japanese words have now been entered into the OED. I mean, this is The Oxford Dictionary, the preeminent repository of the English language for over a century. Weebs, if this isn’t the quintessential “we made it,” then I really don’t know what is.

You can check the full list of Japanese words newly added to the OED below:

Oxford Dictionary March 2024 Japanese-Word Update

• donburi, n.
• hibachi, n.
• karaage, n.
• katsu curry, n.
• kintsugi, n.
• kirigami, n.
• mangaka, n.
• okonomiyaki, n.
• omotenashi, n.
• onigiri, n.
• santoku, n.
• shibori, n.
• takoyaki, n.
• tokusatsu, n.
• tonkatsu, n.
• tonkatsu sauce, n.
• tonkotsu, n./1
• tonkotsu, n./2
• washi tape, n.
• yakiniku, n.

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Isekai, the Popular Manga and Anime Genre, Is Now in the Oxford English Dictionary

Oxford's definition of isekai hints at a shift in the popular anime genre's original definition..

According to The Guardian , The Oxford English Dictionary's latest update added 23 Japanese words to its lexicon. Included among these Japanese terms like is one of the most popular anime genres: isekai.

Oxford English Dictionary's official website defines isekai as "a Japanese genre of science or fantasy fiction featuring a protagonist who is transported to or reincarnated in a different, strange, or unfamiliar world."

While Isekai has been colloquially understood in the U.S.anime community as an genre where a character is teleported into a fantasy world — be it through a VR device à la Sword Art Online or vehicular incidents with a white truck , the term has been slightly misapplied. According to the Tokyo-based Twitch streamer Celina, isekai's means "the story takes place in a totally different world from our real world." Meaning classic fantasy shows fans wouldn't consider to be isekai like Record of Lodoss War and contemporary anime like Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End could be considered isekai. Turns out the anime community's popularized definition of isekai is referring to its sub-genre.

"If it's some modern dude getting reincarnated to another world, it's called isekaitensei," Celina wrote on X/Twitter .

Celina continued in the thread, saying isekai's original definition doesn't just restrict itself to a fantasy setting either, meaning sci-fi stories can technically be an isekai as well. By that logic, Square Enix's 2017 action role-playing game, Nier: Automata , was an isekai before Sword Art Online studio A-1 Pictures turned it into anime last year .

This would probably explain why the popular fantasy anime Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation isn't called Musoku Isekai. However, other upcoming anime like the aptly titled Suicide Squad Isekai doesn't help clear up the anime community's ongoing confusion over the word's proper definition.

Grammatical history lesson aside, the Oxford dictionary will likely not have to iimmediately make an addendum to its definition on isekai. According to The Guardian , editors at the Oxford English Dictionary collaborated with researchers from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies to define isekai and other commonly borrowed cooking-related Japanese words like katsu. This would suggest the word's original definition has shiftted from its originial meaning to fit with anime fan's populalrized misuse of its subgenre. To be fair, isekai rolls off the tongue easier.

If you take anything away from this article — aside from isekai being recognized in the Oxford dicionary of course — Nintendo and Ilumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the second most successful isekai movie ever, coming second to Studio Ghibli's Golden Globe and Oscar award-winning film, The Boy and The Heron .

Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.

In This Article

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Definition of work noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• He started work as a security guard.
• I'm still looking for work.
• It is difficult to find work in the present economic climate.
• She's planning to return to work once the children start school.
• full-time/part-time/unpaid/voluntary work
• out of work She had been out of work (= without a job) for a year.
• in work (British English) They are in work (= have a job) .
• What line of work are you in (= what type of work do you do) ?
• off work She's been off work (= not going to work) with a bad back since July.
• look for work
• look for/​apply for/​go for a job
• get/​pick up/​complete/​fill out/ (British English) fill in an application (form)
• send/​email your (British English) CV/ (North American English) résumé/application/​application form/​covering letter
• be called for/​have/​attend an interview
• offer somebody a job/​work/​employment/​promotion
• find/​get/​land a job
• employ/ (especially North American English) hire/​recruit/ (especially British English) take on staff/​workers/​trainees
• recruit/​appoint a manager
• arrive at/​get to/​leave work/​the office/​the factory
• start/​finish work/​your shift
• do/​put in/​work overtime
• have/​gain/​get/​lack/​need experience/​qualifications
• do/​get/​have/​receive training
• learn/​pick up/​improve/​develop (your) skills
• cope with/​manage/​share/​spread the workload
• improve your/​achieve a better work-life balance
• have (no) job satisfaction/​job security
• have a job/​work/​a career/​a vocation
• find/​follow/​pursue/ (especially North American English) live (out) your vocation
• enter/​go into/​join a profession
• choose/​embark on/​start/​begin/​pursue a career
• change jobs/​profession/​career
• be/ (both especially British English) work/​go freelance
• do/​take on temp work/​freelance work
• do/​be engaged in/​be involved in voluntary work
• leave/ (especially North American English) quit/​resign from your job
• give up work/​your job/​your career
• hand in your notice/​resignation
• plan to/​be due to retire in June/​next year, etc.
• take early retirement
• lose your job
• (British English) become/​be made redundant
• be offered/​take voluntary redundancy/​early retirement
• face/​be threatened with dismissal/ (British English) the sack/ (British English) compulsory redundancy
• dismiss/​fire/ (especially British English) sack an employee/​a worker/​a manager
• lay off staff/​workers/​employees
• (Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English) retrench workers
• cut/​reduce/​downsize/​slash the workforce
• (British English) make staff/​workers/​employees redundant
• be unemployed/​out of work/​out of a job
• seek/​look for work/​employment
• be on/​collect/​draw/​get/​receive (both British English) unemployment benefit/​jobseeker’s allowance
• be/​go/​live/​sign (British English, informal) on the dole
• claim/​draw/​get (British English, informal) the dole
• be on/​qualify for (North American English) unemployment (compensation)
• be/​go/​live/​depend (North American English) on welfare
• collect/​receive (North American English) welfare
• combat/​tackle/​cut/​reduce unemployment
• administrative
• It’s very difficult to find work at the moment.
• Only half the people here are in paid employment.
• He had a very distinguished career in the Foreign Office.
• He hopes to enter the medical profession.
• Please state your name, age, and occupation.
• Carpentry is a highly skilled trade.
• in/​out of work/​employment
• (a) full-time/​part-time work/​employment/​career/​occupation
• permanent/​temporary work/​employment
• (a) well-paid work/​employment/​profession/​occupation
• (a) low-paid work/​employment/​occupation
• to look for/​seek/​find work/​employment/​a career/​an occupation
• to get/​obtain/​give somebody/​offer somebody/​create/​generate/​provide work/​employment
• A hundred grand for two days a week? Nice work if you can get it!
• Full-time work is hard to find.
• During the college vacations he does casual work in the local hospital.
• Employees must not make personal calls during work hours.
• He got laid off, so now he's looking for work again.
• She hasn't been in regular work since she left school.
• He preferred to make his money from honest work rather than from gambling.
• He's been out of work since the factory closed.
• Her boss told her she had to increase her work rate.
• High income tax can undermine work incentives.
• I met him through work.
• I'm lucky—I love my work.
• It's important to be happy in your work.
• Just before he was sixty, he decided to give up work.
• Many unemployed people welcome the chance to do purposeful work, even if unpaid.
• She has just returned to work after the birth of her child.
• She is now looking for paid work outside the home.
• He stops work at the end of this month.
• Some parents of young children choose not to go out to work.
• What time does work start in the morning?
• With so much unemployment, I'm lucky to be in work.
• Work's going well at the moment.
• Any kind of work with kids would suit him fine.
• He loves his work as a stage manager.
• She's been out of work for over a year.
• I'm looking for any kind of construction work.
• It is a country where most women with young children are in paid work.
• It's very difficult to find work at the moment.
• Would you give up work if you won the lottery?
• Most of us find it difficult to balance work and home life.
• They contacted the police when she did not report for work.
• She was already there when he arrived for work the following morning.
• I can't take any more time off work.
• She has to travel abroad a lot for work.
• He found some seasonal work on a farm.
• It was difficult to get work because of the economic depression.
• in (your) work
• a line of work
• a place of work

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