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Synonyms

henhouse

American  
[hen-haus] / ˈhɛnˌhaʊs /

noun

  • henhouses
    plural
  1. a shelter for poultry.


henhouse British  
/ ˈhɛnˌhaʊs /

noun

  1. a coop for hens

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of henhouse

First recorded in 1505–15; hen + house


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Is this a fox in the henhouse scenario, they ask?

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026

When finally she ran out of the henhouse with the exciting news, her mother did not scold her but patiently listened to her daughter’s account of her first scientific observation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025

It is relevant because trusting the very agency that has been responsible for the myriad problems plaguing Arizona’s death-penalty system is a classic instance of letting the fox guard the henhouse.

From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2025

“It’s the fox guarding the henhouse and they should not be at the table when it’s governments who have the jurisdiction to regulate,” Su said.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2023

The woman was already hurrying down the path toward the henhouse.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

And there’s always the frightening prospect that wild birds could carry the virus into the henhouses needed in vaccine production.

From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2024

While you can buy premade henhouses for as little as a few hundred dollars, most are flimsy.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 27, 2023

Giving chickens access to pasture rather than confining them to henhouses is considered more humane treatment.

From Reuters ● Aug. 9, 2022

I envied friends with henhouses by the garden, amiable Araucanas and elegant Australorps clucking and foraging bugs.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2022

Finding them was rather like an Easter egg hunt, because many of the hens preferred to lay under bushes, rather than inside the henhouses.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

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