Meaning & use
homeless
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Having no home of your own to live in.
Grammar: Before a noun or after become or be: a homeless man, become homeless.
Patterns
- become homeless
- be left homeless
The fire left twenty families homeless.
He became homeless after losing his job.
The charity provides meals for homeless people.
nounplural
People who have no home, referred to as a group.
Grammar: Used with the: the homeless. Many writers prefer people who are homeless.
Patterns
- the homeless
The church opened its hall to the homeless.
Volunteers serve soup to the homeless every night.
The city plans more housing for the homeless.
Common combinations
- homeless shelter
- The homeless shelter opens at six.
- become homeless
- Many people become homeless after a crisis.
- leave someone homeless
- The flood left hundreds homeless.
- homeless people
- The charity supports homeless people.
- homeless charity
- She volunteers for a homeless charity.
Synonyms and how they differ
- houseless
- Houseless is rare and mainly literary.
- displaced
- Displaced describes people forced to leave their home by war or disaster, while homeless just means having no home.
- destitute
- Destitute means without money or basic needs, which is wider than homeless.
- rough sleeping
- Rough sleeping is British and means sleeping outside because you have no home.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: homeless or homesick?
homeless vs homesick
Homesick describes sadness from missing home, unlike homeless.
Practice
The earthquake left thousands of families ____.
Choose one answer.
Homeless means without a home, which is what an earthquake can cause. Homesick is a feeling and homely describes a cozy place.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “homeless”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.