housework

[ hous-wurk ]

noun

1. the work of cleaning, cooking, etc., to be done in housekeeping.

housework

/ ˈhaʊsˌwɜːk /

noun

1. the work of running a home, such as cleaning, cooking, etc

Derived Forms

• ˈhouseˌworker, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of housework¹

First recorded in 1570–80; house + work

Example Sentences

We need to think about what we owe each other at all levels of society, from how we divide up housework in the home to how we share the burden of addressing the climate crisis.

From Time

The great work-from-home experiment of 2020 could have raised awareness in many heterosexual households about the frustratingly persistent gap between how much time men and women spend on housework.

From Quartz

Bloom and his coauthors found that people spent about 35 percent of that saved commuting time on their primary jobs, and about 60 percent on all non-leisure activity, including housework and childcare.

From Freakonomics

Cloth diapering fell out of favor as mothers managed the second shift of childcare and housework after their paid jobs and increasingly relied on daycare centers that required costly disposable diapers.

From Time

A year of the coronavirus pandemic has spurred a new debate about how we divide housework and child rearing.

From Washington Post

So, Islamized teaching sends girls back home for marriage and housework, and remains exclusively for boys.

From The Daily Beast

Coming to the center gives her a measure of relief from long days filled with childcare and housework.

From The Daily Beast

What my daughters see me doing most of the time—the part they can wrap their heads around—is child care and housework.

From The Daily Beast

At an early stage of their family life, she learned her husband believed that “a woman should do all housework herself.”

From The Daily Beast

Jeff Ely, a game theorist at Northwestern, has traded massages for housework and writes his wife romantic anniversary blog posts.

From The Daily Beast

At couen the pupils underwent a complete training in all branches of housework.

From Project Gutenberg

She went through the usual routine of housework like a laborer who drags after him a ball and chain.

From Project Gutenberg

During their school days, except in the exceptional home, they are not trained to do housework; do not learn to sew.

From Project Gutenberg

A couple of silent Martians prepared undistinguished meals and did housework in the quarters.

From Project Gutenberg

Housework, you know, is so much more fun if you have the right things to do it with.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• housekeeping
• sewing