household
Americannoun
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households
plural
adjective
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of or relating to a household.
household furniture.
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for use in maintaining a home, especially for use in cooking, cleaning, laundering, repairing, etc., in the home.
a household bleach.
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common or usual; ordinary.
noun
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the people living together in one house collectively
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(modifier) of, relating to, or used in the running of a household; domestic
household management
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of household
First recorded in 1350–1400, household is from the Middle English word houshold. See house, hold 1
Explanation
How many people does your house hold? That’s your household! A household refers to a family or group of people living together. It’s a social unit under one roof. All the people living in your house, including servants, make up your household. Don’t have any servants? Well, your roommates count as part of your household, too. In the middle of the night, your household might be asleep. Your household income could determine whether or not you get the pool in the backyard. Household can also be an adjective to describe — you guessed it — things that are in your house, like household appliances or household furniture.
Vocabulary lists containing household
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:
Norway's royal household said in April 2024 King Harald would make a "permanent reduction" to his public engagement "out of consideration for his age".
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Bottom line: An individual with significant assets can still qualify for financial assistance, whereas someone with low personal income might receive little to no subsidy if their household falls into a higher income bracket.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Her life for the next eight years that he’s in her household is just to try to be a little more normal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Hayden Panettiere, the former child actor who became a household name as an indestructible cheerleader on “Heroes” before starring as a troubled country singer on “Nashville,” has died.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Packing up the household again, George and Martha Washington moved into the new President’s House with the entire group of enslaved people to tend them.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
The deluge also cut power to more than 20,000 households.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The upshot is that equity wealth is increasingly available to fund spending among households with higher marginal propensities to consume.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Tehran, which has endured years of sanctions, is pushing more of the burden onto households by rationing fuel and electricity, restricting scarce foreign currency and cutting investment while preserving essential imports and state resources.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Analysts had expected a 0.1 percent uptick in retail sales in July, and all eyes are on US consumer health as households grapple with inflation while drawing down on their savings.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Their looks might even jeopardize their ability to receive a proper reception at the fine Virginia households they planned to call on across the river.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
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.
