henhouse

American

[hen-hous] / ˈhɛnˌhaʊs /

noun

plural

henhouses

a shelter for poultry.

henhouse British

/ ˈhɛnˌhaʊs /

noun

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

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.

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

Jordan Adams, as it happened, was exactly the fox they wanted to eject from their own henhouse.

From Salon • Oct. 10, 2023

Oh, Grandma, I thought, that is the same moon and the same stars that will be over your grape arbor and your henhouse tomorrow.

From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023