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:
Another upside to not being raised in New York’s theatrical hothouse was the welcome he received as a young artist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
In this hothouse environment, rife with sibling rivalry and corporate espionage, one member of the horticulturalist family has turned up dead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Becerra, a California native, emerged from the hothouse of Latino politics on Los Angeles’ Eastside.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 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
The room was hung with silver and gold garlands and heaps of white hothouse camellias.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
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
“I was always trying to sneak pineapple onto the menu” at St. John, she said, by arguing that Victorian-era aristocrats grew them in hothouses.
From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2020
Narrow corridors open into immense libraries; glass doors give way to hothouses overflowing with the smells of humus, wet newspaper, and lobelia.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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