Home in or Hone in?
Sometimes one letter makes all the difference. Although the expressions “home in” on something and “hone in” on something are both considered correct, is it better to say “home in” or “hone in”? Or is there any difference? Give it your best shot.
What’s the best and most established expression to use – “home in” on something or “hone in” on something”?
“Home in” is best
“Hone in” is best
Both are equally correct
Although I suspect that, based on the results of a LinkedIn poll that I recently conducted, most of you chose “hone in,” the right answer is “home in.”
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the phrase started as “home in” in the early 20th century and comes from homing pigeons, and the way they can find their way home from wherever they’re released. In the ‘20s, “homing in on a target” became a way to talk about planes, missiles, and military operations that use radio signals to find a target, and in the ‘50s, “home in” became a way talk about zeroing in on something in general. But within about 10 years, people started using “hone in” in the same sense.
In fact, according to Merriam-Webster, this use could have come about from the weakening of the “m” sound to “n,” or from the influence of “hone,” with the sense that "honing" involves a sharpening of focus. In any case, although “hone in” has now established itself in American English, most language experts still consider its use inferior to “home in.”