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Glite Dictionary
Homeland Security

Homeland Security

61 3.7
A United States government department that protects the country from threats inside its borders
  • proper noun
  • /ˈhoʊmlænd sɪˈkjʊrɪti/
  • Literature
translation icon : Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (Estados Unidos)
  • After 9/11, Homeland Security made every city have a lockdown plan.
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  • Secretary of Homeland Security

And so in this also TSA as part of the Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, Customs, ICE, they all fall under DHS.

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Examples

  • The Department of Homeland Security is working to prevent terrorist attacks in the United States.

  • A task force created by the Homeland Security Advisory Council is reviewing the plans to ensure consistency and consensus.

    Academic text (2005)

  • You should work for Homeland Security.

    School for Scoundrels (2006)

  • Two agents from Homeland Security are gonna come in here after I leave.

    Like Crazy (2011)

  • There have still been no official statements from the White House or Homeland Security.

    Greenland (2020)

  • And so the Department of Homeland Security intercepted this this transaction.

  • And the US Department of Homeland Security or DHS is working very seriously on protecting us from such an event.

  • The FBI and Homeland Security will tour the airport, spend two hours observing these offices before your interview process begins.

    The Terminal (2004)

  • We are also honored to publish Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff's perspective on the most timely issues of national security.

    Academic text (2009)

  • The establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) signaled the US government's commitment to mitigate terrorist threats.

    Academic text (2004)

Synonyms

Department of Homeland Security
vsHomeland Security
  • Formal
3 3.5

A U.S. government department that protects the country from threats and manages national security

has identical meaning but is the common shorter name used in speech

Surface Forms

Homeland Security main

Morphology

homeland + security

The phrase combines 'homeland' (one's native land) and 'security' (protection), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can readily infer it refers to protection of the country; this compositional meaning is cross-linguistically common. Although it is also the proper name of a U.S. government department, that institutional reading is a predictable extension of the transparent core meaning.

Etymology

Homeland Security became a common name after the 2001 attacks in the United States. It uses the clear image of the country's homeland as a house and security as the locks and guards that keep it safe, so the term refers to the government's work to 'protect' the nation.