hothouse
Americannoun
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:
Baton Rouge is a merciless hothouse that won’t accept anything short of national titles, but presumably he knows the madness he’s walking into.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
In Metcalfe’s hothouse literary universe, Blundy’s poem is important because it is a revenant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
That pressure is very often from players and managers in the fierce hothouse of elite-level football, trickling right down to the grassroots.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2024
Many who follow the sport would agree that few coaches last long in those overpriced hothouse environments.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2024
The room was hung with silver and gold garlands and heaps of white hothouse camellias.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
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
As a child, Sandra used to explore the remnants of the alpine garden and hothouses once so loved by Ellen.
From BBC ● May 27, 2022
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.
