hothouse

[hot-hous]

See more synonyms for hothouse on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural hot·hous·es

[hot-hou-ziz] /ˈhɒtˌhaʊ zɪz/.

an artificially heated greenhouse for the cultivation of tender plants.

adjective

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.
overprotected, artificial, or unnaturally delicate.

Origin of hothouse

First recorded in 1505–15; hot + house

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hothouse

Contemporary Examples

If Saudi Arabia is a hothouse flower, then Americans have helped build the greenhouse.
Will Saudi Arabia Execute Guest Workers for 'Witchcraft'?
Michael Schulson
March 29, 2014
Hothouse by Boris Kachka A romp through the history of venerable publisher Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
This Week’s Hot Reads: August 5, 2013
Nicholas Mancusi
August 5, 2013
Outside the hothouse of that environment, he is making sense—though his is a message that many conservatives may not want to hear.
Newt Gingrich Faces Reality, Admits Conservatives Were Out of Touch
Howard Kurtz
March 5, 2013

Historical Examples

It is with the Hindu mind as if a seed were placed in a hothouse.
Chips From A German Workshop - Volume I
Friedrich Max Mller
No; it is still the spirits' home—a hothouse for sickly plants.
The Sand-Hills of Jutland
Hans Christian Andersen
All the stock of hothouse and stove plants at Hartwell Priory.
A Dark Night's Work
Elizabeth Gaskell
It is as hot as fire here, and the park has that steamy smell that a hothouse has.
The Heart of Rachael
Kathleen Norris
She always looked like a hothouse flower, and now she is simply frail.
The Blower of Bubbles
Arthur Beverley Baxter

British Dictionary definitions for hothouse

hothouse

noun

1. a greenhouse in which the temperature is maintained at a fixed level above that of the surroundings
2. (as modifier)a hothouse plant
1. an environment that encourages rapid development
2. (as modifier)a hot-house atmosphere
an environment where there is great pressureshowjumping is a tough, hothouse world
(modifier) informal, often censorious sensitive or delicatea hothouse temperament

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

Word Origin and History for hothouse

n.

mid-15c., "bath house," from hot + house (n.). In 17c. a euphemism for "brothel" (cf. massage parlor); the meaning "glass-roofed structure for raising plants" is from 1749. Figurative use by 1802.

hothouse

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}hothouse

Examples from the Web for hothouse

Contemporary Examples

If Saudi Arabia is a hothouse flower, then Americans have helped build the greenhouse.

Hothouse by Boris Kachka A romp through the history of venerable publisher Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Outside the hothouse of that environment, he is making sense—though his is a message that many conservatives may not want to hear.

Historical Examples

It is with the Hindu mind as if a seed were placed in a hothouse.

No; it is still the spirits' home—a hothouse for sickly plants.

All the stock of hothouse and stove plants at Hartwell Priory.

It is as hot as fire here, and the park has that steamy smell that a hothouse has.

She always looked like a hothouse flower, and now she is simply frail.

hothouse

Word Origin and History for hothouse

n.

Origin of hothouse