what type of noun is homework

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Definition of homework

Examples of homework in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'homework.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Dictionary Entries Near homework

Cite this entry.

“Homework.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homework. Accessed 24 Aug. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of homework, more from merriam-webster on homework.

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for homework

Nglish: Translation of homework for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of homework for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about homework

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Types of Noun

The nine types of noun.

Table of Contents

Common Nouns and Proper Nouns

The nine types of common noun, more detail about the types of noun, (1) abstract nouns, (2) concrete nouns, (3) collective nouns, (4) compound nouns, (5) gender-specific nouns, (6) gerunds, (7) non-countable nouns (mass nouns), (8) countable nouns, (9) verbal nouns, noun phrases and noun clauses, video lesson.

• common nouns (e.g., man, dog, city)
• proper nouns (e.g., Simon, Bonzo, Paris)
• car, man, bridge, town, water, metal, ammonia
• Michael, Africa, Peking, The Tower of London, Uncle George, The Red Lion

(1) Abstract nouns

• fear, anger, comfort

(2) Concrete nouns

• gerbil, igloo, zoo

(3) Collective nouns

• team, gang, choir

(4) Compound nouns

• mother-in-law, bus stop, snowman

(5) Gender-specific nouns

• lady, boy, waiter
• singing, talking, thinking

(7) Non-countable nouns

• milk, water, patience

(8) Countable nouns

• coin, note, robot

(9) Verbal nouns

• development, drawing, attack

• abbey, banjo, camel, daughter, eclipse, fawn, gerbil, hatchet, igloo, jackal, kangaroo, locket, monsoon, nuts, owl, palm, quill, raspberries, sea, tavern, usher, vulture, wasps, xylophone, yacht, zoo
• band, board, choir, class, company, congregation, crew, crowd, gang, horde, jury, mob, group, pack, party, team, tribe, bunch, cluster, fleet, range, gaggle, herd, hive, school, shoal, pride, swarm, tribe

• mother-in-law
• forget-me-not
• black market
• board of members
• washing machine
• actor, boy, brother, emperor, father, gentleman, grandfather, grandson, headmaster, husband, man, master, mister, nephew, prince, son, steward, uncle, waiter, wizard
• actress, aunt, daughter, empress, girl, granddaughter, grandmother, headmistress, lady, lioness, lioness, madam, mistress, mother, niece, princess, princess, sister, stewardess, stewardess, tigress, tigress, waitress, waitress, wife, witch, woman
• Running the tap will clear the air pocket.
• She is known for talking quietly.
• My highlight was visiting New York.
• I like baking .
• I need some baking powder.
• She was baking a cake.
• The quick development of the process is essential.
• Quickly developing the process is essential.

• aardvark, backbone, coin, daffodil, eagle, face, gorilla, house, igloo, jaguar, koala, log, man, note, orange, package, queen, robot, suitcase, table, udder, vacation, waltz, xylophone, yacht, zombie
• I am responsible for the funny drawing of the monster.
• I am responsible for drawing the funny monster.
• Noun Phrase . A noun phrase is a group of two or more words that is headed by a noun. For example:
• How much is the doggy in the window ?
• Noun Clause . A noun clause is a clause (i.e., a group of words with its own subject and verb) that plays the role of a noun. For example:
• Whatever you wish is my command.
• How much is he ?
• It is my command.

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Definition of homework noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

• acquire/get/lack experience/training/(an) education
• receive/provide somebody with training
• develop/design/plan a curriculum/course/program/syllabus
• give/go to/attend a class/lesson/lecture/seminar
• hold/run/conduct a class/seminar/workshop
• moderate/lead/facilitate a discussion
• sign up for/take a course/classes/lessons
• go to/start preschool/kindergarten/nursery school
• be in the first, second, etc. grade (at school)
• study/take/drop history/chemistry/German, etc.
• finish/drop out of/quit school
• graduate from high school/college
• be the victim/target of bullying/teasing
• skip/cut/ ( informal ) ditch class/school
• cheat on an exam/a test
• get/be given a detention (for doing something)
• be expelled from/be suspended from school
• do your homework/a project on something
• work on/write/do/submit an essay/a dissertation/a thesis/an assignment/a paper
• finish/complete your dissertation/thesis/studies
• hand in/turn in your homework/essay/assignment/paper
• study/prepare/review/ ( informal ) cram for a test/an exam
• take/ ( formal ) sit for a test/an exam
• grade homework/a test
• do well on/ ( informal ) ace a test/an exam
• pass/fail/ ( informal ) flunk a test/an exam/a class/a course/a subject
• apply to/get into/go to/start college
• leave/graduate from college (with a degree in computer science)/law school
• study for/work towards a law degree/a degree in physics
• major/minor in biology/philosophy
• earn/receive/be awarded/get/have/hold a master's degree/a bachelor's degree/a Ph.D. in economics

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• 2 ( informal ) work that someone does to prepare for something You could tell that he had really done his homework (= found out all he needed to know) .

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homework noun

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What does the noun homework mean?

There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun homework . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

How common is the noun homework ?

How is the noun homework pronounced?

British english, u.s. english, where does the noun homework come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the noun homework is in the mid 1600s.

OED's earliest evidence for homework is from 1653, in the writing of Edmund Chillenden, parliamentarian army officer and General Baptist leader.

homework is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: home n. 1 , work n.

Nearby entries

• homeward-bounder, n. 1837–
• homeward-bound pennant, n. 1853–
• homewardly, adv. 1797–
• homewards, adv. & adj. Old English–
• homeware, n. 1782–
• home waters, n. 1838–
• home wear, n. 1836–
• home-whining, n. a1657
• home wind, n. 1732–
• home-woe, n. 1838–
• homework, n. 1653–
• homework club, n. 1900–
• homework diary, n. 1973–
• homeworker, n. 1843–
• homeworking, n. 1844–
• home-working, adj. 1850–
• home worship, n. 1849–
• homewort, n. Old English–
• home-wreck, n. 1845–
• home-wrecker, n. 1878–
• home-wrecking, n. 1878–

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Meaning & use

Pronunciation, compounds & derived words, entry history for homework, n..

homework, n. was revised in September 2011.

homework, n. was last modified in July 2023.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

• further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into homework, n. in July 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

A Supplement to the New English Dictionary (1933)

• Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

• View homework in OED Second Edition

Please submit your feedback for homework, n.

Please include your email address if you are happy to be contacted about your feedback. OUP will not use this email address for any other purpose.

Citation details

Factsheet for homework, n., browse entry.

Look up a word, learn it forever.

/ˌhoʊmˈwʌrk/.

Other forms: homeworks

Any assignment you're expected to complete after school and bring back to class the next day is called homework . Many students make up excuses for not having their homework done. The "My dog ate my homework " excuse doesn't work so well in the digital age.

High school students typically have a lot of homework most days, and often that's true for younger students as well. In college, an increasing amount of school work is done outside of class, as homework (even if you do it in the library, a cafe, or a dorm). Homework originally referred to any work done at home, including cooking and cleaning. The first example of the "school work" meaning dates from the late 1880s.

• noun preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home) synonyms: prep , preparation see more see less type of: school assignment , schoolwork a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher

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[ hohm -wurk ]

• schoolwork assigned to be done outside the classroom ( distinguished from classwork ).
• a single assignment of such schoolwork: Homeworks are due at the beginning of class.
• paid work done at home , as piecework.

to do one's homework for the next committee meeting.

/ ˈhəʊmˌwɜːk /

• school work done out of lessons, esp at home
• any preparatory study
• work done at home for pay

Word History and Origins

Origin of homework 1

Idioms and Phrases

Example sentences.

Now, they log on to Zoom from their bedrooms, surrounded by unfinished homework assignments and tattered stuffed animals, waiting to be assigned calls, texts and emails by the trained therapists who oversee the program.

Yow started her homework and saw Frese had gone 35-22 with two winning seasons at Ball State, which hadn’t had a winning record in its previous nine seasons.

Do some homework before investing in a diamond, and that lifelong commitment.

Another poster included an image of their losses over what appeared to be online math homework.

As we countdown to Inauguration Day, I've been doing my homework—and looking to the past for inspiration.

“I can help my children with their homework and sometimes we text in English at my job,” Santos says.

Scheunemann, meanwhile, had no idea who Spencer was, and did some homework.

She jumped at the chance to watch RT, or jumped at the chance to skip calculus homework.

And we encourage parent-student “contracts,” for class attendance, homework submission and even extra-curriculum activities.

Adicéam did his homework, spending 50 days collecting pieces, many with unexpected stories behind them.

Much of this homework is done by a very bad light and the boy's eyes suffer much.

For homework we have prepared alphabets where the letters are printed in type-writing order.

His parents were always getting angry with him for losing his clothes, or his toys, or his homework.

Only at the time when he was going to Beauregard School, with his homework.

And once a week or twice a week she was sending her homework or something to him.

Related Words

• arrangement
• construction
• establishment
• preparedness
• qualification

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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Noun worksheets, lessons, and tests.

Understanding the parts of speech is fundamental to learning more advanced concepts like sentence structure , grammar, and punctuation. That's why so many language arts units start with the parts of speech. And, if you are starting a unit on the parts of speech, one of the better places to begin is by studying nouns .

Nouns are words that refer to people, places, and things. Most grade school students can tell you this. But the study of nouns gets a little more complex. There are many types of nouns such as common and proper, singular and plural, and abstract and concrete. It is helpful to know these distinctions when studying language. Over the years I've created a catalog of noun worksheets and activities that work well in the classroom. These include multiple-choice tests, practice activities suitable for homework or classroom activities, as well as online noun activities that give students instant feedback and save teachers' time. I've posted all of these activities to this page and made them freely accessible to teachers, parents, and students. May we all one day have a better understanding of what we are saying.

Noun Worksheets

Noun powerpoint lessons.

Here are some multiple-choice tests to help evaluate how well your students understand nouns .

Nouns and Capitalization Common Core State Standards

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Meaning of homework in English

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• The kids are busy with their homework.
• My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.
• "Have you got any homework tonight ?" "No."
• I got A minus for my English homework.
• For homework I want you to write an essay on endangered species .
• academic year
• access course
• Advanced Placement
• asynchronous
• foundation course
• grade retention
• immersion course
• on a course
• open admissions
• open classroom
• work placement

homework | American Dictionary

Homework | business english, examples of homework, translations of homework.

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out of harm's way

in a position that is safe from harm or from which harm cannot be done

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Is "homework" countable?

I was wondering if "homework" is countable? I remember it is an uncountable noun when I learned English in middle school.

Suppose now I would like to ask my teacher to hand back my graded "homeworks" of last three times. How shall I ask him?

• uncountable-nouns
• countable-nouns

4 Answers 4

"Homework" is uncountable since it is treated as a general meaning not a particular item, like "work", "money" etc.

In your case, use "assignment" instead.

May I have my last three graded assignments back please?

• Both 'work' and 'money' are countified and have well-documented plural forms. 'Homeworks' has not got the same pedigree, though some dictionaries license it with caveats. –  Edwin Ashworth Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 18:44

While I've seen the word homeworks used, I've never seen anything legitimate to indicate that it's correct. In any case, you can use the term homework assignments to refer to multiple homework items. That's a fairly common term, at least in American English.

• Thanks! But I don't ask my teacher for assignments, but my homework that I have worked out and handed to my teacher, and the homework is from last three times. How shall I ask him? –  Tim Commented May 22, 2011 at 1:39
• 1 @Tim: In American English, assignments is used for what you describe. In British English, homeworks is at least marginally acceptable — we used it at at least one school I went to, although I do remember it feeling awkward/slangy to me at first. –  PLL Commented May 22, 2011 at 8:10
• What I’ve seen to indicate it is correct is its frequent use by native speakers –  Casey Commented Nov 20, 2021 at 22:37

Traditionally, it is not countable, and most dictionaries list it as such.

However, the Merriam-Webster thesaurus (although not the Merriam-Webster dictionary) does have an entry for homeworks . Moreover, the plural form is used by at least some groups of educated native speakers.

One's best bet is to try to find out if one's audience belongs to a group that tends to use homeworks . If yes, then go ahead and use that word yourself. If not, rephrase as homework assignments or something similar.

Merriam-Webster Thesaurus

Notice that the Merriam-Webster thesaurus has the following entry :

homeworks noun plural of homework Synonyms of homeworks as in schoolwork Synonyms & Near Synonyms for homeworks schoolwork assignments, lessons, reading lectures drills, exercises, practices (also practises ) études, studies

(Interestingly, the Merriam-Webster dictionary entry does not give a plural form for homework .)

Examples of usage by educated native speakers

Such examples are not hard to find at all. For instance, American professors of linguistics, physics, and mathematics, at least, use the word homeworks quite frequently.

All of the examples below are from native speakers, as best as I can tell.

Here are five examples from linguistics professors:

Final grades will be calculated as follows: 30% for homeworks, 20% for the midterm, … Penny Eckert and Ivan A. Sag , Linguistics 1: Introduction to Linguistics (Syllabus), 2011, here . Late assignments are not accepted, but your two lowest-scoring homeworks will be dropped. Adam Jardine , Introduction to Linguistic Theory (Honors) (Syllabus), 2018, here . Homeworks are due at the beginning of class on the days indicated. Emily M. Bender, Linguistics 461: Introduction to Syntax (Syllabus), here . If turned in ​complete​, the homeworks will be graded 8 (well below average), 9 (average), or 10 (well above average​); but 0 if not done. Anthony C. Woodbury, Linguistics 306: Introduction to the study of language (Syllabus), here . Homeworks: 25% (lowest score dropped) Dani Byrd and Toby Mintz , Ling 275: Language & Mind (Syllabus), 2006, here .

Here are five examples from physics professors:

Some homeworks are 'secret' assessment exercises: General GRE, Praxis and Major Field Tests Richard Robinett, Penn State Physics Undergraduate Program Better Practices, 2010, p. 12 here . Homeworks are like sports practice Tom Moore , Teaching General Relativity with Tensors, 2006, here . These concepts can be introduced to students through labs, homeworks, and discussion questions. Brianna Billingsley and Cory Christenson, Incorporating Non-Western Contributions Into the Intro Physics Curriculum, 2019, here . With their flexible design, PhET sims are used in many ways—as demos, homeworks, or inexpensive, accessible lab alternatives—and getting started is easy with our database of over 500 activities. Katherine K. Perkins, Teaching Physics with PhET Simulations: Engaging Students and Increasing Learning (Abstract) 2012, p. 58 here . In this talk, we will outline the reforms—including consensus learning goals, “clicker” questions, tutorials, modified homeworks, and more—and present evidence of the effectiveness of these reforms relative to traditional courses. Katherine K. Perkins, Steven Pollock, Stephanie Chasteen, Steve Goldhaber, Rachel Pepper, Michael Dubson, and Paul Beale, Colorado's Transformed Upper-Division E&M and QM courses: Description and Results (Abstract) 2010, p. 119 here .

And here are five examples from mathematics professors:

Homeworks 1-3 David Blecher, here . There will be two midterm exams, weekly homeworks, and a final exam. Scott Sutherland, MAT 141: Honors Calculus 1 (syllabus), 2012, here . MIT 3.016 Homeworks W. Craig Carter, Mathematics for Materials Science and Engineers, MIT 3.016 (syllabus), 2011, (here) . Click on the link 'Problem Sets and Solutions'; you will reach this page , which is where the word homeworks appears (in the page heading). Homeworks (41/42 Track); Homeworks (51 Track) Andrew Schultz, SSEA 2006: Mathematics Track, 2006, here . All homeworks, except the first one, are due on Thursday at 3:30pm Mike Clancy and David Wagner, CS 70, Spring 2005: Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science, 2005, here .

In searching for examples, I also saw examples of similar usage by professors of comparative literature , philosophy, computer science, chemistry, and sociology.

• Even Wiktionary fails to concede the plural form as a possibility, but this is doubtless an ongoing countification (and 10 years is a substantial time for the evolution to progress). –  Edwin Ashworth Commented Nov 20, 2021 at 16:42
• American professors of physics and mathematics, at least, use the word homeworks... I wonder if I should take seriously pronouncements on quantum physics by English professors... –  Greybeard Commented Nov 20, 2021 at 18:18
• @EdwinAshworth I just looked at Wiktionary , and it says 'usually uncountable, plural homeworks '. The edit that added that note was on 5 October 2015‎. So indeed, things change in ten years! –  linguisticturn Commented Nov 21, 2021 at 17:18
• Whoops, I had SimpleWiktionary , which I didn't know existed. Obviously homeworks is harder. –  Edwin Ashworth Commented Nov 21, 2021 at 17:53
• @Greybeard Apologies if your comment was meant as a joke, but if it wasn't (and for the benefit of those who don't take it as a joke), the answer is, no you shouldn't. And indeed, conversely, if physics or math professors were to start making 'pronouncements' about whether a particular word is acceptable English, you shouldn't take that seriously, either. But that's not what's going on in my answer. My answer simply points out that there is a U.S.-wide, loosely connected group of educated native speakers who rather frequently and unselfconsciously use homeworks in day-to-day life. –  linguisticturn Commented Nov 21, 2021 at 18:38

Ask for "items" or "pieces" of homework.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged nouns uncountable-nouns countable-nouns or ask your own question .

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Noun Worksheets

A person, place of thing.

These grammar worksheets help kids learn to recognize and use nouns . A noun is a word for a person, place or thing. Our nouns worksheets also cover plural nouns, common and proper nouns, possessive nouns, collective nouns and abstract nouns.

Grade 1 nouns worksheets

• Identifying simple nouns as a person, place or thing
• Identifying nouns in sentences
• Completing sentences with nouns
• Identifying plural nouns
• Making nouns plural by adding "s" or "es"
• Identifying common and proper nouns
• Making nouns possessive by adding apostrophe plus s

Grade 2 nouns worksheets

• Classifying nouns: person place or thing
• Writing nouns in your own sentences
• Capitalize common and proper nouns appropriately
• Identify singular and plural nouns
• Plural nouns: nouns ending in "y"
• Plural nouns: nouns ending in a vowel plus y
• Irregular plural nouns
• Collective nouns

Grade 3 nouns worksheets

• Classifying nouns as a person, place or thing
• Nouns as direct objects
• Countable and uncountable nouns
• Regular plural nouns
• Irregular nouns
• Concrete and abstract nouns

Sample Nouns Worksheet

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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

Noun Worksheets

A noun is the part of speech that names a person, place or thing. The free noun worksheets below feature different noun types and their usage.

Noun Worksheets To see these noun worksheets individually or to download the noun worksheets PDF, click on the individual noun worksheets title. All printable noun worksheets are free to duplicate for home or classroom use.

Need a noun refresher? Here are some helpful articles on the different types of nouns .

Adjectives: Add the Noun

An adjective describes something; it usually describes a noun. With this printable parts of speech worksheet, students will be asked to add a noun for each adjective to describe. Made easy to print, this activity is perfect for use both at home and in the classroom!

Alphabet Collections: Nouns

With this printable activity, students will practice writing a noun for each letter of the alphabet. All the way from A to Z, see how many creative words your students can come up with! Our Parts of Speech Alphabet Worksheet is perfect for K – 3rd grade, but can be used where appropriate.

Capitalize Proper Nouns

Capitalize the proper nouns from the story.

Color the Nouns: Airplane

In this printable classroom activity, students will be asked to color any shape that has a noun in it the color yellow. Your students can choose to fill in the other shapes with any color they want, which makes this activity lots of fun. Once all of the shapes are filled in, your students will have uncovered a picture of a colorful airplane!

Color the Nouns: Kite

Noun identification is an important part of early education! With this printable classroom activity, students will be asked to color the shapes that have a noun in them. Once the shapes have been colored, students will reveal a picture of a kite!

Color the Nouns: Octopus

In this classroom activity, use the color green to fill in all of the shapes that have a noun in them. Then, use any color you like to fill in the rest of the shapes. Once everything is colored, students will reveal a picture of a octopus!

Color the Nouns: Tulips

Noun identification is an important part of early education! Students will be asked to color the shapes that have a noun in them, revealing a beautiful picture of tulips. This printable activity will make learning about nouns lots of fun!

Color the Nouns: Turtle

Use the color yellow to fill in all of the shapes that have a noun in them, and use any color you like to fill in the rest! Once all of the shapes are filled in, students will see a picture of a turtle. This helpful classroom activity makes learning about nouns lots of fun!

Common and Proper Nouns

Write Common or Proper on the line next to each noun. Then, write three of each.

Identifying Nouns

Read the story. Circle all the nouns. Write them on the lines below the story.

Circle the nouns and cross out words that are not nouns.

Nouns Review 1

Tell whether each noun is common or proper. Write the plural of each word.

Plural Noun Worksheet: S or ES?

Here’s some practice with plurals for your kindergartener!

Replace with Proper Nouns

Make the story more interesting by replacing the common nouns with proper

S or ES: Plural Noun Worksheet

In this kindergarten worksheet, your student will write the plural form of words.

Singular and Plural Nouns

If the noun is singular, write the plural form. If the noun is plural, write the singular form.

Sort the Common and Proper Nouns

Underline the common nouns and circle the proper nouns.

Write a Noun for Adjectives

Identifying parts of speech is an important skill to learn in early education! With this printable activity, students will practice writing nouns and adjectives. After reading through a series of adjectives, students will be asked to write a noun for each adjective to describe.

Abstract and Concrete Nouns Worksheet

Underline the concrete nouns and circle the abstract nouns.

Adventures With Alliteration! Nouns

Time to tackle the terrific alliteration!

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What's the correct unit for homework?

Consider the case when a teacher has thirty students in the class. The noun "homework" is uncountable so he cannot say "I have thirty homeworks to grade every week." My question is that if there is any unit of homework so that the sentence "I have thirty (units) of homework to grade every week" can be valid?

• After reading the replies, I think I should make the situation more clear. I myself am a math TA. What our students need to do for homework is usually about ten exercises from the textbook. I feel if I ask another TA how much homework he needs to grade, the usual reply will be like, "I have two sections, fifteen students each, and we have one assignment every week." Since the amount of exercises is usually the same, we don't really care about it. The amount of homework to grade mainly depends on how many students we have. But I always feel this kind of reply to be very indirect. So my precisely question is if there is any way to reply the question "how much homework do you need to grade?" by saying "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week."
• Based on what I see from the replies, I have the impression that different countries have different answers for this question. Is this true? I'm on the west coast of the US so the way in which people there answer this question is what I care about the most. But I'm still interested in knowing the difference.
• uncountable-nouns

• 7 But, Chris, you'd need to tell us what unit is important. What did you count to reach thirty? Was it questions, exercises, assignments, workbooks? Was it students or classes? Until you tell us, we don't know. –  Gary Botnovcan Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 15:21

9 Answers 9

In your example, you could use pieces , as in I have thirty pieces of homework to grade every week .

piece noun [ C ] (THING) a single object of a particular type: a piece of furniture/clothing/equipment a piece of paper (= a whole sheet) a piece of china (= an object made of china) a piece of information/advice (Cambridge Dictionary)

However, that doesn't seem particularly idiomatic to me. You could use assignments , as in homework assignments :

assignment noun [ C/U ] us ​ /əˈsɑɪn·mənt/ a particular job or responsibility given to you: [C] The homework assignment was to read Chapter 2 in our history book. (Cambridge Dictionary)

However, in my experience, it's more common to use the type of assignment instead of homework . I think the most broad term is assignment , but you could be more specific: I have 30 ______ to grade every week.

• assignments

I was very briefly a grader (or, "reader") in a related field. I can't remember exactly how I talked about it, but if someone asked me, "How much homework do you need to grade?", I would probably reply

I need to grade thirty [assignments] every week.

You could also say sets (as others have mentioned), or even submissions (more generic). I'm thinking maybe even "papers", but that's usually used with reports or essay-like works.

I don't think I would have responded in the form you supplied, "I need to grade thirty (units) homework every week." But, that's just my personal feeling of it. You can still use pieces , as mentioned earlier. It may or may not sound slightly strange to the listener, but you will be understood.

To my surprise, BrE users are reporting that pieces of homework is idiomatic to them. I did a little Ngram search , and it appears that the phrase is more common in BrE.

I'm from the West Coast (US).

• 2 I always preferred "piece of homework", so +1 –  SovereignSun Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 9:19
• 4 Pieces was the first word I thought of. (brit here) –  WendyG Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 10:56
• 2 I've often heard " homework for 30 students ", or " papers ", as in " I have 30 papers to grade this weekend ". –  Todd Wilcox Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 13:58
• 8 "Assignment" strikes me as more likely American. I don't think we ever referred to pieces of homework as "assignments" in secondary school here in Britain. Maybe my school was just weird though, it's hard to tell with this sort of thing! –  Muzer Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 14:27
• 2 Pieces of homework sounds perfectly idiomatic to me (from UK) –  Ben Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 13:08

You are given homework assignments :

[Merriam-Webster] 2 b : a specified task or amount of work assigned or undertaken as if assigned by authority • a homework assignment The students were given a homework assignment .

• @Richard The way I see it, this definition is not so precise and clear too! What about: "a piece of work that a student is asked to do" (Quoted from here , definition number 2) –  a.RR Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 14:14
• 5 If the teacher were marking 30 assignments, I'd see that as 30 sets of different homework, not 30 submissions for the same assignment. –  Lightness Races in Orbit Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 15:16
• Agreed; one assignment to 30 students would produce (up to) 30 submissions to grade. –  chepner Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 18:19
• In Toronto, especially in high school, we always got homework assignments. They weren't called anything else. –  Jason Bassford Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 20:30
• 1 Hmm everyone I knew when I TA'd in the US would more than happily use "homeworks". Not sure if they would write since I've never had occasion to need that but in casual speech it seems completely acceptable. I wonder how many would have actually reported it as ungrammatical. –  DRF Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 13:45

You pick a different noun that is more flexible yet appropriate.

I have thirty reports to grade. I have thirty assignments to mark.

• 2 Also problem sets or essays. –  user3067860 Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 13:29

You're asking about the teacher's workload in evaluating the homework that has been returned.

I think the word 'sets' is what you're looking for.

I have 30 sets of math homework to grade, and I still have 8 sets of geography homework from yesterday that I'm not done with.

set (MW, noun definition 2)

a number of things of the same kind that belong or are used together

The dictionaries don't seem to have caught up yet but, as somebody who regularly sets and marks homework in a university in the UK, I would quite happily refer to "marking 30 homeworks". A comment on another answer says that this is also used in the US.

So, at least for informal use, I think it's fine to use homework as a countable noun and pluralize it. If you wanted to be more formal, I'd go with my usual cowardly solution of rewording to avoid the problem: "I have to grade 30 students' homework" or "I have to grade homework for 30 students."

• 1 I agree, but interestingly, if I were a student and had a math assignment, a history assignment, and an English assignment, I'd never say "I have three homeworks to do." –  thumbtackthief Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 21:21

I suggest you use the word exercise . It's one of the most frequently used words in this meaning(=homework) & it's countable too.

Well, there are other simple ways:

For homework , you're going to finish thirty exercises every week.

In other words:

Do Exercises 3, 4, 5 etc on pages 51, 52, 53 etc for homework .

If you are student you can say:

My science teacher always sets a lot of homework. The teacher told us to do thirty exercises for homework.

If you are teacher you can also say:

For homework I want you to do thirty exercises.

• 1 But if you set thirty exercises as homework then one 'unit' of homework would be thirty exercises, so 'exercise' isn't the unit for 'the homework received from one pupil'. –  Pete Kirkham Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 15:01
• @PeteKirkham All in all, " One exercise " can be a " Piece of homework " or " A part of assignment " . So I definitely disagree with you. –  a.RR Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 15:43
• 2 Probably an American thing, but "my teacher sets a lot of homework" sounds very weird to me. I would always use the verb "gives." I also agree with @PeteKirkham; to me, "exercise" only refers to a part of an assignment and not the assignment as a whole. –  Doorknob Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 14:35
• @Doorknob "Set" seems very normal to me in British English so, yes, this probably is a US/UK thing. –  David Richerby Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 16:07
• This is incorrect. If the teacher has set 30 exercises to each of 30 students, then they have 900 exercises to mark but only 30 units of homework. "Exercise" and "homework" are not synonyms: one's homework is the total work one has been set to do at home and that may consist of multiple exercises, as your answer makes clear. –  David Richerby Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 16:09

I'd quantify it by the amount of students whose homework you have to grade.

"I have homework of 30 students to grade this weekend"

• 2 Or, more simply, "30 students' homework". With your phrasing, I think you need the definite article, "I have the homework of 30 students to grade this weekend." –  David Richerby Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 16:00

At MIT, most courses assign homework in " problem sets ".

A typical engineering student has to do four problem sets per week: one for each course that he or she is enrolled in.

A typical TA (Teaching Assistant) has to grade dozens of problem sets per week: one for each student in his (or rarely her) recitation section(s).

A typical problem set consists of several problems.

Some courses (especially in Technical Writing and the Humanities) require students to write weekly essays, instead of solve weekly problem sets.

'30 sets of homework' perhaps.

But 'I've got 30 homeworks to mark' doesn't sound wrong.

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What type of nouns homework and chaos?

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A metaphor for homework?

Homework is a rock. This means that it is hard

What is the definition for categorical data?

a type of data that does not use numbers but uses nouns.

Opposite of chaos?

The opposite of chaos is calmness and serenity.

Is chaos an adjective?

No, chaos is a noun. Chaotic is the adjective form.

How would you use chaos in a sentence?

After the hurricane I saw a lot of chaos.

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