home screen

noun

1

: television sense 2

… it's the kind of movie that plays better on the home screen, where you're less likely to miss any of the fiendishly witty lines of the screenplay … and can replay some of the stunning special effects.

—Molly Haskell

TV viewers soon may be seeing some of their black-and-white film favorites blushing with new color on the home screen.

—Ron Miller

2

: the graphical user interface that is displayed by default by an electronic device (such as a smartphone or computer) or software application and that provides quick access to commonly used functions, settings, etc.

[Journalist Catherine] Price's suggestions range from the extreme, such as a "digital sabbath" during which you turn your phone off for 24 hours, to the seemingly slight, such as reorganising your phone's home screen so you can't see the bright, tempting colours of your favourite apps the second you turn it on.

—Caroline Crampton

The Netflix interface—the home screen that greets users when they open the app—is constantly evolving.

—James Titcomb

Examples of home screen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nothing has released a new Android app called Nothing Community Widgets that will highlight home screen tools and games co-created by its users. —Andrew Liszewski, The Verge, 4 Dec. 2024

Here are the steps: Open Settings: Tap on the Settings app on the home screen. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 17 Oct. 2024

Tap on the home screen again to lock in the changes. —Brenda Stolyar, WIRED, 28 Sep. 2024

At another point, one of the three men also briefly flashed his Windows home screen, revealing his last name, too. —Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

home screen

noun

1

: television

2

: the graphical user interface that is displayed by default by an electronic device (as a smartphone or computer) or software application and that provides quick access to commonly used functions and settings