Definition

1. Noun:

   • A homing pigeon: A pigeon trained to return to its home, often used historically for carrying messages.
   • A home run in baseball: A hit that allows the batter to circle all the bases and score a run.
   • An ancient unit of capacity: A Hebrew unit of liquid or dry measure, equal to about 10 baths or 10 ephahs.
   • The poet Homer: The legendary ancient Greek author traditionally said to be the composer of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.
   • Winslow Homer: A celebrated 19th-century American painter known for his marine subjects.

2. Verb:

   • To hit a home run: In baseball, to successfully hit the ball in such a way that the batter can run around all the bases and score.

Examples

• Noun:

  • The army used a homer to deliver the secret message.
  • The crowd cheered as the batter hit a grand slam homer.
  • The ancient text mentioned a measurement of one homer of barley.
  • We studied the works of Homer in literature class.
  • The museum has an exhibition of paintings by Winslow Homer.

• Verb:

  • The rookie homered in his first major league at-bat.

Advanced Usage

• "To go deep": A common informal synonym for hitting a home run, often used in sports commentary.
  • The slugger went deep in the ninth inning to win the game.
• "Homer" as a verb in informal contexts: Can be used more generally to mean achieving a significant success.
  • She really homered with that presentation; the clients loved it.

Variants and Related Words

• Home run (n): The full term for the baseball achievement.
• Homeric (adj): Pertaining to the poet Homer, his works, or something of epic scale or grandeur.
  • They faced Homeric challenges on their journey.
• Homing pigeon (n): Another term for a pigeon trained to return home.

Synonyms

• For the baseball term: dinger, four-bagger, round-tripper (all informal).
• For the pigeon: carrier pigeon, homing pigeon.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• "Homer in": This is not a standard phrasal verb. The verb "homer" is typically used without a particle.
  • Correct: He homered to left field.

Related Idioms

• "Hit it out of the park": An idiom meaning to achieve outstanding success, derived from baseball and synonymous with hitting a home run.
  • Your proposal really hit it out of the park.

Noun

1. pigeon trained to return home
2. United States painter best known for his seascapes (1836-1910)
3. an ancient Hebrew unit of capacity equal to 10 baths or 10 ephahs
4. ancient Greek epic poet who is believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey (circa 850 BC)
5. a base hit on which the batter scores a run

Verb

1. hit a home run