# homeless

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈhoʊmlɪs/ · frequency rank #4,607

## Definitions
1. Lacking a permanent place of residence.
2. Containing no place that might be called home.

## Etymology
From Middle English *homles, *hamles, from Old English hāmlēas (“homeless”), equivalent to home + -less. Cognate with Dutch heemloos, Danish hjemløs (“homeless”), Swedish hemlös (“homeless”). Compare also German heimatlos (“homeless”), Icelandic heimilislaus (“homeless”), West Frisian dakleas (“homeless”, literally “having no roof, roofless”).

## Easily confused with
- **hopeless** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/homeless-vs-hopeless)

## Common misspellings (10)
`hhomeless`, `hmoeless`, `hoemless`, `homeelss`, `homeles`, `homelless`, `homelses`, `homleess`, `hommeless`, `ohmeless`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/homeless