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Glite Dictionary
to home in

to home in

8 4.9
Move accurately toward a target or focus closely on a problem
  • phrasal verb
  • /hoʊm ɪn/
translation icon : dirigirse a
  • The drone was able to home in on the target location using GPS.

Examples

  • We homed in on its beacon.

    Aliens (1986)

  • Once locked to its prey, the super-fast bird electronically homes in on its target.

    The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979)

  • Arguably, it can home in on everything that one is likely to regard as an instance of film form.

    Academic text (1998)

  • So we send in little imaging agents into your blood that go in home in on the tumor.

  • Keep your phone on and they'll home in on the signal.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Clearinghouse data may help students home in on success.

    Academic text (2017)

  • "We do need efforts to home in on these programs," Strohl said.

    Blog text (13)

  • The antibodies enable the anti-cancer missile to home in on cancer cells even if the nanoparticles are injected elsewhere in the body.

    Academic text (2010)

  • They're developing an acoustic beetle detector that homes in on the beetle's munching sounds as they tunnel.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Monitoring the munching sounds made by Asian longhorned beetles (ALB) may help scientists home in on which trees are infested.

    Academic text (2000)

Synonyms

to zero in
vsto home in
63 4.7

To focus closely on a specific target

move accurately toward a target using guidance systems

Antonyms

to miss
∞ 1.0

To fail to reach or hit something you aim for

to diverge
19 6.8

To move apart and also become different, like roads or opinions

How Accurate

to pinpoint
123 4.0
to home in
8 4.9
to zero in on
44 4.2

Surface Forms

home in infinitive
homed in past
homed in past participle
homing in present participle
homes in third person singular

Morphology

home + in

The meaning 'to move or be guided accurately toward a target' follows from a metaphorical use of 'home' (meaning 'to the exact place/point') combined with the directional particle 'in', so there is an interpretable relation to the constituents. However, this requires knowing the adverbial/metaphorical sense of 'home' (and parallels like 'home on/onto'), which many B1 learners may not have; the sense is therefore partly predictable but not fully transparent.

Etymology

Home in comes from the image of a homing pigeon or a guided missile finding its home or target. That's why it means 'to move or be guided accurately toward a target'.