homing device
11
5.6
- noun
- /ˈhoʊmɪŋ dɪˈvaɪs/
- Specialized
:
dispositivo de guiado
- The military used a homing device to guide the missile toward its target.
- put a homing device
- tiny homing device
- plant a homing device
And then you had Danny Kruegel from South Africa with his interesting DNA homing device.
- And then you had Danny Kruegel from South Africa with his interesting DNA homing device.
Examples
-
Anne Marie passes to Eric a tiny, weatherproof homing device attached to a steel collar band.
Fiction book (1993) -
Is the homing device ready yet?
-
In the field, they act like homing devices.
-
You put a homing device on Private?
-
We're not the only ones who put a homing device on that truck.
-
Your truck carries a homing device.
-
I hid a homing device out there in the jungle.
-
I didn't know about the homing device.
-
Mr. and Mrs. Swanson had a homing device placed in the briefcase.
Fiction book (1994) -
The homing device glistens like an aluminum pea in a tiny claw at the end of the tentacle.
Fiction book (1990)
Synonyms
9
9.6
A device on a missile that finds and follows a target by its heat or radio signal
A machine that automatically controls the path of a vehicle like a missile or aircraft
Antonyms
- Specialized
1
5.1
An explosive dropped from a plane that falls by gravity without guidance
How Accurate
- Specialized
11
5.6
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a device that locates or homes in on a target' is directly derivable from combining 'homing' (ability to locate a specific place/target) with 'device' (an instrument). This adjective+noun composition is compositional and follows a predictable pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrase homing device comes from the idea of pigeons that always find their way 'home'. The word homing means moving toward 'home' and device means a small machine. So a homing device is a small machine that makes a missile or vehicle move toward a target, which is why the name means 'a machine that finds its target'.