Bauhaus

American  

[bou-hous] / ˈbaʊˌhaʊs /

noun

1. a school of design established in Weimar in 1919 by Walter Gropius, moved to Dessau in 1926, and closed in 1933 as a result of Nazi hostility.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to the concepts, ideas, or styles developed at the Bauhaus, characterized chiefly by an emphasis on functional design in architecture and the applied arts.

Bauhaus British  

/ ˈbaʊˌhaʊs /

noun

1. 1. a German school of architecture and applied arts founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius on experimental principles of functionalism and truth to materials. After being closed by the Nazis in 1933, its ideas were widely disseminated by its students and staff, including Kandinsky, Klee, Feininger, Moholy-Nagy, and Mies van der Rohe

   2. ( as modifier )

      Bauhaus wallpaper

---

Bauhaus Cultural  

1. A German school of applied arts of the early twentieth century. Its aim was to bring people working in architecture, modern technology, and the decorative arts together to learn from one another. The school developed a style that was spare, functional, and geometric. Bauhaus designs for buildings, chairs, teapots, and many other objects are highly prized today, but when the school was active, it was generally unpopular. The Bauhaus was closed by the Nazis, but its members, including Walter Gropius, spread its teachings throughout the world.

---

Etymology

Origin of Bauhaus

1920–25; < German, equivalent to Bau- build, building + Haus house

Example Sentences

This Colombian singer and producer’s new album of electronic pop both sounds fresh and of the moment, but deeply rooted in influences like Nine Inch Nails and Bauhaus.

From Salon • Jun. 28, 2025

It’s a lesson other Bauhaus luminaries grasped sooner, but the dream of being a free artist is hard to relinquish.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 31, 2024

“The Bauhaus Project,” now making its world premiere in an Open Fist Theatre Company production directed by Martha Demson, surveys its subject like an introductory seminar.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 31, 2024

Some of them are hard to relate to, except as spectacle, and feel like a cross between the Bauhaus and a fun house.

From New York Times • May 5, 2024

The result looks like a Bauhaus chair for the simple reason that it is a chair made from the simplest of geometrical forms.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton