homemade

homemade — adjective

1. made in your own home instead of being bought from a store

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

made in your own home instead of being bought from a store

Example

Kwame brought homemade cookies to share at the party.

collocation: homemade cookies / bread / jam

Élise's homemade soup tastes much better than the canned kind.

Common collocations
  • homemade bread
  • homemade cake
  • homemade soup
  • homemade jam
  • homemade pizza
  • homemade gift
  • homemade card
  • homemade wine
  • homemade soap
Synonyms
  • home-baked

    only for food cooked in an oven, such as bread or cookies

  • handmade

    focuses on being made by hand, not necessarily at home; more formal

  • DIY

    British, used before nouns for things you make yourself (DIY gifts); informal

Antonyms
  • store-bought

    bought ready-made from a shop; the most direct opposite

  • factory-made

    produced in large quantities in a factory; more formal

Usage Note

Used before a noun (homemade bread) or after be (the bread is homemade). Describes anything made by a person in their own home rather than bought — commonly food, but also gifts, decorations, or household items.

Common Mistakes

I bought a homemade gift from the store.
I bought a handmade gift from the store.
Homemade means made at home, not in a factory or shop. If you bought it at a store, it cannot be homemade.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Homemade is the broadest term, covering anything made at home — from cookies to soap. Home-baked is narrower, used only for oven-cooked foods such as bread, cakes, and pies. Handmade shifts the focus from location to method: a handmade scarf is made by hand, but could come from a workshop rather than a home. DIY (do-it-yourself) is informal and common in British English, often describing projects like furniture assembly or home repairs. For example: 'She gave me a homemade card' (made at home), but 'She gave me a handmade card' (made by hand, possibly by an artist).

homemade ↗home-bakedhandmade ↗DIY ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Formed by combining the words home (from Old English hām, meaning 'one's own house or dwelling') and made (from Old English macian, meaning 'to construct or create'). The compound has been in English since the 14th century, originally describing items produced within a household rather than by a professional craftsperson.