homebody

Meaning

1. 1nouncountableinformal

   Someone who prefers to stay at home and does not often go out.

   Grammar: Countable and friendly in tone: he is a real homebody.

   Patterns

   • a real homebody
   • a homebody at heart

   My sister is a homebody who would rather read than go to a club.

   After the long trip, I became a total homebody for a month.

   He's a homebody at heart and rarely travels.

Word forms

Common combinations

a real homebody

My dad is a real homebody.

a homebody at heart

I'm a homebody at heart and love cozy evenings.

confirmed homebody

Years of working remotely made her a confirmed homebody.

quiet homebody

The quiet homebody grew roses and baked bread.

become a homebody

Winter makes many people become homebodies.

Synonyms and how they differ

stay-at-home

Stay-at-home can describe someone who stays home out of choice or circumstance, such as a parent.

recluse

A recluse avoids people almost completely, which is more extreme than a homebody.

introvert

Introvert describes a personality type, while homebody describes where someone likes to spend time.

couch potato

Couch potato is humorous and critical, implying laziness, unlike the warmer homebody.

Opposites

Word family

home noun

the place where one lives

body noun

here used in the old sense of a person

homely adjective

simple and comfortable, or in American usage plain-looking

homebound adjective

unable to leave the house

Commonly confused: homebody or homeboy?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “homebody”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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