homeward bound

Meanings

1. 1adjectiveafter a verb

   Travelling toward home, especially after a trip or a long time away.

   Grammar: Usually follows a linking verb or noun: we are homeward bound.

   Patterns

   • be homeward bound
   • homeward bound from something

   After six months at sea, the sailors were finally homeward bound.

   The train was full of homeward bound commuters.

   We stopped for coffee, then headed homeward bound.

2. 2adverbnot comparableliterary

   In the direction of home.

   Grammar: Used after verbs of movement: they set off homeward bound.

   The geese flew homeward bound at dusk.

   She walked homeward bound through the snow.

   The wagons rolled homeward bound.

Common combinations

finally homeward bound

The team were finally homeward bound after the tournament.

homeward bound flight

Our homeward bound flight was delayed.

homeward bound traveler

Every homeward bound traveler had a story.

set out homeward bound

They set out homeward bound at sunrise.

Synonyms and how they differ

heading home

Heading home is plain everyday speech, while homeward bound sounds more poetic.

on the way home

On the way home describes the situation neutrally and is more common in conversation.

returning

Returning does not say where to; homeward bound makes the destination clear.

Opposites

Word family

homeward adverb

toward home

homewards adverb

British variant of homeward

outward bound adjective

leaving home

Commonly confused: homeward bound or homebound?

Practice

Make it your own

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

Explore more words