hometown

noun

home·​town ˈhōm-ˈtau̇n How to pronounce hometown (audio)
Synonyms of hometown
often attributive
: the city or town where one was born or grew up
also : the place of one's principal residence

Examples of hometown in a Sentence

She returned to her hometown to stay after college.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Every founder deciding between Ottawa and Austin, every artist told the real industry is south of the border, every executive advised to tone down the hometown pride is running the same calculation Drake and Lütke once ran. — Kumaran Nadesan, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026 The English superfan has seen the band twice this summer — once in his hometown of London and again traveling overseas to Munich. — Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 29 July 2026 As part of a series honoring hometown heroes across the country, Chevrolet released a YouTube video Wednesday about Spencer, the owner of SB Mowing. — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 29 July 2026 Smith died Wednesday of natural causes in a hospital in her hometown of New York City, her friend Matt Beckoff told The Hollywood Reporter. — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for hometown

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hometown was in 1851

Rhymes for hometown

See All Rhymes for hometown

Browse Nearby Words

home theater
hometown
home truth
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hometown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hometown. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

hometown

noun
home·​town -ˈtau̇n How to pronounce hometown (audio)
: the city or town where one was born or grew up

More from Merriam-Webster on hometown

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hometown

Nglish: Translation of hometown for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of comely

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All