homeless

adjective

home·​less ˈhōm-ləs How to pronounce homeless (audio)
: having no home or permanent place of residence : unhoused
homelessness noun

Examples of homeless in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The victim, who is believed to have been homeless, died at the scene near 87th Ave. — Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026 She's been homeless and struggling for years and in and out of prison. — Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 The city awoke two days later to find almost 18,000 buildings destroyed, much of the city leveled, 90,000 people homeless and 300-some people dead. — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026 The city has a standing goal of building 250 homes for homeless residents by 2026. — Mark Dee october 8, Idaho Statesman, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for homeless

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of homeless was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing homeless

Browse Nearby Words

homeland
homeless
homelessness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Homeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homeless. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

homeless

adjective
home·​less -ləs How to pronounce homeless (audio)
: having no home or permanent residence
homelessness noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of deportment

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All