hothouse

[ hot-hous ]

/ ˈhɒtˌhaʊs /

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See 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.

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Origin of hothouse

First recorded in 1505–15; hot + house

Words nearby hothouse

hot flush, hotfoot, hotfoot it, hothead, hotheaded, hothouse, hothouse lamb, Hotien, hot Jupiter, hotkey, hot lick

How to use hothouse in a sentence

He added that those stars from Hollywood's Golden Age would not have "survived" in the hothouse-fame environment of today.
Clooney: A Constant Charmer at the Altar|Tim Teeman|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

And Mitt, obviously rattled by the Gingrich “surge,” seemed like a delicate hothouse flower.
Newt Gingrich Fends Off Tough Questions During CNN South Carolina Debate|Lloyd Grove|January 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Honorine has her little house, a garden, and a splendid hothouse, for a rent of five hundred francs a year.
Honorine|Honore de Balzac
"He is a very precious hothouse flower," said Dennis sarcastically.
The Varmint|Owen Johnson
He is engaged in growing and wholesale shipping of hothouse and garden vegetables.
Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 2 (of 2)|William Denison Lyman
Of course these were not fragrant like hothouse violets, but they had quite as beautiful a color.
Living on a Little|Caroline French Benton
She slept a great deal, and was fed constantly and her crystal palace was like a little hothouse.
The Incubator Baby|Ellis Parker Butler

British Dictionary definitions for hothouse

hothouse

/ (ˈhɒtˌhaʊs) /

noun

a greenhouse in which the temperature is maintained at a fixed level above that of the surroundings
(as modifier)a hothouse plant

an environment that encourages rapid development
(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

hothouse

Origin of hothouse

Words nearby hothouse

Words related to hothouse

How to use hothouse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hothouse