housekeeper
Americannoun
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housekeepers
plural
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a person, often hired, who does or directs the domestic work and planning necessary for a home, as cleaning or buying food.
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an employee of a hotel, hospital, etc., who supervises the cleaning staff.
noun
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a person, esp a woman, employed to run a household
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a person who is not an efficient and thrifty domestic manager
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a person who is an efficient and thrifty domestic manager
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of housekeeper
First recorded in 1375–1425, housekeeper is from the late Middle English word houskeper. See house, keeper
Explanation
A housekeeper is someone whose job involves cleaning other people's houses. In some cases, a housekeeper also cooks meals for her employers. It was once common in many countries for wealthy families to employ a live-in housekeeper, who may have been called a maid or a servant. Today it's less typical, although some families hire workers to clean occasionally — these people might come once a week and are usually called <>housecleaners rather than housekeepers. The word uses the sense of keep that means "maintain or preserve order."
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:
Why wait for the housekeeper to make that trip to the garden shed for hedge clippers?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Apparently my 2 a.m. self is part snack-seeking raccoon, part conscientious housekeeper.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Yet, the technology is still a long way from replacing what a skilled factory worker or hotel housekeeper can do, in the view of many specialists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
She has a housekeeper, but how does she manage to keep everything dust free?
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Kendra had wanted to paint the pavilions around the pond, and Lena had quickly sketched a scene with startling accuracy, as if the housekeeper had the place memorized.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
“It is so common to have house cleaners, housekeepers ... but why isn’t there someone that you can rely on as a second set of hands to do anything you would do for your family?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Tips make up a significant portion of the income for millions of servers, housekeepers, taxi drivers, and hairstylists across the United States.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
The two housekeepers denied that conversation with Brown took place, and said the language barrier would have made such a discussion unlikely.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Less than two months after being sued by two former housekeepers, Kylie Jenner has been hit with a third workplace lawsuit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Arrangements were made for the preparation of their city home and a couple were engaged as housekeepers for the country home.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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