House or home?

We use the noun house to refer to a building:

They’re building six new houses at the end of our road.

When we refer to being at someone’s house, we can leave out the word house and use at + possessive or at + the definite article + possessive:

We stayed overnight at Mike’s. (at Mike’s house)

We’re going to be at the Jacksons’ this evening. Want to come with us? (at the Jacksons’ house)

We use home in a more personal and emotional way to refer to where someone lives. The noun home does not usually refer to the building. We often use home with the preposition at:

It’s not very big but it’s my home.

Why don’t you phone her now? I think she’s at home.

When we talk about the building we live in, we use house not home:

Our dog stays in the house with us.

Not: Our dog stays in the home with us.

We use home as an adverb with verbs of movement such as get, go, come, arrive, travel, drive. We don’t use to:

I’m going home now. I’m really tired.

Not: I’m going to home now.

Would you like me to drive you home?

Not: Would you like me to drive you to home?

Home can be used as a countable noun to refer to the place where people or animals live and are cared for by people who are not their relatives or owners:

There’s a home for the elderly at the end of our street.

We got our dog, Scotty, from the local dogs’ home.