homeless
/ˈhəʊmləs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhəʊmləs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈhōm-ləs/ (ame, mw) · /ˈhəʊm.ləs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhoʊm.ləs/ (ame, ipa)
homeless — adjective
- homelesspositive
- more homelesscomparative
- most homelesssuperlative
1. having no place to live; not having a house, apartment, or other shelter to slee
having no place to live; not having a house, apartment, or other shelter to sleep in — for example, after losing your job, being forced to leave your home, or facing a natural disaster.
Aoi and her two children became homeless after the landlord sold the apartment.
became homeless — describes a change of circumstance
The shelter provides hot meals and beds for up to fifty homeless people each night.
homeless people — adj + noun collocation for a person in that situation
After the earthquake, thousands of families were left homeless with nowhere to go.
Zayd volunteers at a drop-in centre where homeless teenagers can do their homework.
A homeless woman sat near the station entrance with her dog and a cardboard sign.
- housed
formal; having a place to live
常見錯誤
homeless — noun
1. people who have no permanent place to live, often because of poverty, unemployme
people who have no permanent place to live, often because of poverty, unemployment, or difficult personal circumstances — considered as a group in society.
The charity runs a van that delivers hot soup to the homeless during winter.
to the homeless — typical prepositional phrase used with verbs of giving
Eleni's research looks at how the homeless face barriers to finding long-term housing.
the homeless — used as a collective plural noun
The new law gives the homeless the right to access public bathrooms and showers.
Local shops donate unsold bread and fruit to the homeless each evening.
- unhoused people
alternative phrasing preferred in some advocacy contexts; views the situation as a result of housing policy rather than personal failing
- rough sleepers
British English; specifically refers to people sleeping outdoors on streets rather than those staying in temporary shelters
- housed population
formal; people who have permanent homes
文法句型
the + homeless (as a group)
用法筆記
Always used with 'the' (the homeless) to refer to a collective group. This form is plural — it means 'homeless people' as a whole. It cannot be used as a singular countable noun (❌ 'a homeless'). To refer to one individual, say 'a homeless person'.