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hothouse

American  
[hot-hous] / ˈhɒtˌhaʊs /

noun

plural

hothouses

  1. an artificially heated greenhouse for the cultivation of tender plants.

adjective

  1. 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.

  2. overprotected, artificial, or unnaturally delicate.

hothouse British  
/ ˈhɒtˌhaʊs /

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

  3. an environment where there is great pressure

    showjumping is a tough, hothouse world

  4. informal (modifier) sensitive or delicate

    a 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

Etymology

Origin of hothouse

First recorded in 1505–15; hot + house

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.

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

Thomas Tuchel's England World Cup blueprint faces the acid test against Serbia in the hothouse atmosphere of Belgrade's Rajko Mitic Stadium.

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2025

Many who follow the sport would agree that few coaches last long in those overpriced hothouse environments.

From Salon • Aug. 15, 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

I kept on stacking the hothouse tomatoes and Bose pears.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

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.