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Synonyms

henhouse

American  
[hen-hous] / 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 she was about 5, she disappeared for hours to a dark henhouse to see how chickens laid eggs, so absorbed that she was oblivious to her family’s frantic search for her.

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

Sure, someone/thing may have to guard the henhouse, but that’s a small price to pay if their translocation increases their genetic diversity.

From Seattle Times May 17, 2024

Loli Regalado, while pleased with her exoneration, complains that putting Rogelio with the components at the state nursery is akin to dropping the fox off at the henhouse with a knife and fork.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

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

It has infiltrated big commercial poultry farms and tiny backyard henhouses, affecting 72 million farmed birds in the United States alone, according to the Department of Agriculture.

From New York Times Dec. 15, 2023

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

From Washington Post Jan. 27, 2023

Department of Agriculture, would eliminate loopholes that have let some of the biggest egg producers claim the federally administered "organic" label by installing open-air porches on henhouses in lieu of providing access to pasture.

From Reuters Aug. 9, 2022

And there was a very big enclosure for the hens, with five henhouses in it, like the one in which I hid.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

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