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
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.
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
Leeds were back in all their glory on and off the pitch as Elland Road boiled in the sort of hothouse atmosphere that will be key to their ambitions of staying in the top flight.
From BBC • Aug. 18, 2025
“Honeydew” is one of those episodes of “The Bear” that zooms in on a specific character and lets the viewer relax a little outside the hothouse confines of kitchen chaos.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2024
Jawaharlal Nehru University, named for India’s first prime minister, is one of the country’s premier liberal institutions, a hothouse of strong opinions and left-leaning values whose graduates populate the upper echelons of academia and government.
From New York Times • Feb. 10, 2024
Is her mind betraying her, cultivating delusion like a hothouse orchid?
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
