Describing something designed to return to a starting point or navigate toward a target automatically; also the behavior of animals returning to home.
From 'home' (Old English 'hām') plus the '-ing' suffix. Originally used for pigeons and other animals with navigational instinct.
Homing pigeons can navigate using Earth's magnetic field, landmarks, and the sun, which is why they were used for centuries to deliver messages—they're literally alive GPS systems, and we based our missile technology on their abilities.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.