hothouse
Americannoun
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hothouses
plural
adjective
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of, relating to, or noting a plant grown in a hothouse, or so fragile as to be capable of being grown only in a hothouse.
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overprotected, artificial, or unnaturally delicate.
noun
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a greenhouse in which the temperature is maintained at a fixed level above that of the surroundings
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( as modifier )
a hothouse plant
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an environment that encourages rapid development
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( as modifier )
a hot-house atmosphere
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an environment where there is great pressure
showjumping is a tough, hothouse world
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informal (modifier) sensitive or delicate
a hothouse temperament
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hothouse
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:
But the CGL hothouse also turned out to be the perfect training ground for a kid who was still worrying about middle-school homework.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
The new owners don't reside in the hothouse of Glasgow football, they don't feel the emotion and they look less likely to react to the thunder of the fans in a way their predecessors did.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2025
Many who follow the sport would agree that few coaches last long in those overpriced hothouse environments.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2024
He had turned Manhattan’s Jewish Museum into an avant-garde hothouse during his brief tenure as director, from 1962 to 1964, including with solo shows of Rauschenberg and his former lover, Jasper Johns.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2024
“My name is Father Francis Patrick Xavier Mulrooney,” he announced in a voice so cold it sent chills down Alex’s spine, in spite of the hothouse atmosphere of the chapel.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
In the region affected by the Eaton fire, officials responsible for mosquito control say they do not have the funds needed to provide sufficient treatment for all the pools that are now possible mosquito hothouses.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2025
My son was selected to join other thirteen-year-old baseball players from New England for a few days of humility at the hands of teams from California, Georgia, Texas, and other hothouses of baseball talent.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2022
Over the past half-century, Stevens has become a key figure in navigating those hothouses, sometimes behind the scenes, but always with a shrewd eye and bracing lack of cynicism.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 2022
Cavendish bananas are still grown in hothouses on the estate and eaten by the owners and their guests.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2017
Amsterdam was home to fantastic collections of animals and insects from all over the world, and to gardens and hothouses full of exotic plants.
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
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.
