"home in" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "The phrase originates in military use in the early 20th century, apparently by analogy with the older term homing pigeon. From the 1960s it is also found in the mistaken variant hone in. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hone+in",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "homes in",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "homing in",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "homed in",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "homed in",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "home in (third-person singular simple present homes in, present participle homing in, simple past and past participle homed in)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "homing"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "homing pigeon"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with manual fragments",
          "parents": [
            "Links with manual fragments",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Military",
          "orig": "en:Military",
          "parents": [
            "Society",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To draw close to a destination, especially using radar; to move towards a target."
      ],
      "id": "en-home_in-en-verb-3t9mF1vH",
      "links": [
        [
          "military",
          "military"
        ],
        [
          "radar",
          "radar"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(military, of an aircraft or guided missile, often with 'on') To draw close to a destination, especially using radar; to move towards a target."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of an aircraft or guided missile",
        "with 'on'"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "zero in"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "often"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "military",
        "politics",
        "war"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to draw close to a destination",
          "word": "sich dem Zielgebiet nähern"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with manual fragments",
          "parents": [
            "Links with manual fragments",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 84",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 84",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"in\"",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 90",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 90",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 91",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "14 86",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He used the clues to home in on the source of the flames.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "We are homing in on a solution.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "The eagle homed in for the kill.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020 December 21, Bryan Lufkin, “How 'linguistic mirroring' can make you more convincing”, in BBC:",
          "text": "Homing in on the way someone presents can help you imitate them; for instance, some prefer to get right down to business, focusing on data and facts.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To focus or narrow down to something; to find, draw closer or move towards, as by trial and error or a gradual seeking process."
      ],
      "id": "en-home_in-en-verb-oc3rnGzc",
      "links": [
        [
          "focus",
          "focus"
        ],
        [
          "narrow",
          "narrow"
        ],
        [
          "find",
          "find"
        ],
        [
          "trial",
          "trial"
        ],
        [
          "error",
          "error"
        ],
        [
          "seeking",
          "seeking"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(often with 'on') To focus or narrow down to something; to find, draw closer or move towards, as by trial and error or a gradual seeking process."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "with 'on'"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "zero in"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "often"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "33 67",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to draw closer or move towards",
          "word": "(in Richtung) ... einschwenken"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "33 67",
          "code": "de",
          "english": "auf",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to draw closer or move towards",
          "word": "Kurs nehmen"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "tags": [
        "proscribed"
      ],
      "word": "hone in"
    }
  ],
  "word": "home in"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs formed with \"in\"",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with German translations"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "The phrase originates in military use in the early 20th century, apparently by analogy with the older term homing pigeon. From the 1960s it is also found in the mistaken variant hone in. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hone+in",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "homes in",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "homing in",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "homed in",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "homed in",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "home in (third-person singular simple present homes in, present participle homing in, simple past and past participle homed in)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "homing"
    },
    {
      "word": "homing pigeon"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with manual fragments",
        "en:Military"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To draw close to a destination, especially using radar; to move towards a target."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "military",
          "military"
        ],
        [
          "radar",
          "radar"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(military, of an aircraft or guided missile, often with 'on') To draw close to a destination, especially using radar; to move towards a target."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of an aircraft or guided missile",
        "with 'on'"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "zero in"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "often"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "military",
        "politics",
        "war"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with manual fragments",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He used the clues to home in on the source of the flames.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "We are homing in on a solution.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "The eagle homed in for the kill.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020 December 21, Bryan Lufkin, “How 'linguistic mirroring' can make you more convincing”, in BBC:",
          "text": "Homing in on the way someone presents can help you imitate them; for instance, some prefer to get right down to business, focusing on data and facts.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To focus or narrow down to something; to find, draw closer or move towards, as by trial and error or a gradual seeking process."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "focus",
          "focus"
        ],
        [
          "narrow",
          "narrow"
        ],
        [
          "find",
          "find"
        ],
        [
          "trial",
          "trial"
        ],
        [
          "error",
          "error"
        ],
        [
          "seeking",
          "seeking"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(often with 'on') To focus or narrow down to something; to find, draw closer or move towards, as by trial and error or a gradual seeking process."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "with 'on'"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "zero in"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "often"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "proscribed"
      ],
      "word": "hone in"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to draw close to a destination",
      "word": "sich dem Zielgebiet nähern"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to draw closer or move towards",
      "word": "(in Richtung) ... einschwenken"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "english": "auf",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to draw closer or move towards",
      "word": "Kurs nehmen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "home in"
}