housewife
Americannoun
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Sometimes Offensive. a married woman who manages her own household, especially as her principal occupation.
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British. a sewing box; a small case or box for needles, thread, etc.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a woman, typically a married woman, who keeps house, usually without having paid employment
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Also called: hussy. huswife. a small sewing kit issued to soldiers
Sensitive Note
Most people, married or unmarried, find the term housewife perfectly acceptable. But it is sometimes perceived as insulting, perhaps because it implies a lowly status (“She’s just a housewife”) or because it defines an occupation in terms of a woman's relation to a man. Homemaker is a fairly common substitute.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of housewife
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English hus(e)wif; see origin at house, wife
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.
She was the quintessential housewife — from how she looked to what she did on a day-to-day basis, taking care of the home and her family.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
I was born in Peru, having come over to America very small, 3 years old — there was no example of a stay-at-home mom or a housewife living a life of luxury like that.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
"We're living like that now, we're exactly like that", says housewife Lisandra outside her home in Havana, which is cobbled together with pieces of sheet metal and wood.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
Fatema Begum, a 40-year-old housewife, said she wanted a Bangladesh where people could "live independently and speak freely".
From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026
I mean, suddenly he was that little kid tearing down a back alley with some housewife hanging wash and shouting, “Look at ’im scoot!”
From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
