house

[ noun, adjective hous; verb houz ]

/ noun, adjective haʊs; verb haʊz /

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noun, plural hous·es

[hou-ziz]. /ˈhaʊ zɪz/.

a building in which people live; residence for human beings.

a household.

(often initial capital letter) a family, including ancestors and descendants: the great houses of France; the House of Hapsburg.

a building for any purpose: a house of worship.

a theater, concert hall, or auditorium: a vaudeville house.

the audience of a theater or the like.

a place of shelter for an animal, bird, etc. (usually used in combination): a doghouse.

the building in which a legislative or official deliberative body meets.

House, the body itself, especially of a bicameral legislature: the House of Representatives.

a quorum of such a body.

(often initial capital letter) a commercial establishment; business firm: the House of Rothschild; a publishing house.

a gambling casino.

the management of a commercial establishment or of a gambling casino: rules of the house.

an advisory or deliberative group, especially in church or college affairs.

a college in an English-type university.

a residential hall in a college or school; dormitory.

the members or residents of any such residential hall.

Informal. a brothel; whorehouse.

house music.

British. a variety of lotto or bingo played with paper and pencil, especially by soldiers as a gambling game.

Also called parish .Curling. the area enclosed by a circle 12 or 14 feet (3.7 or 4.2 meters) in diameter at each end of the rink, having the tee in the center.

Nautical. any enclosed shelter above the weather deck of a vessel: bridge house; deck house.

Astrology. one of the 12 divisions of the celestial sphere, numbered counterclockwise from the point of the eastern horizon.

verb (used with object), housed

[houzd], /haʊzd/, hous·ing

[hou-zing]. /ˈhaʊ zɪŋ/.

to put or receive into a house, dwelling, or living quarters: More than 200 students were housed in the dormitory.

to give shelter to; harbor; lodge: to house flood victims in schools.

to provide with a place to work, study, or the like: This building houses our executive staff.

to provide storage space for; be a receptacle for or repository of: The library houses 600,000 books.

to remove from exposure; put in a safe place.

Nautical.

to stow securely.
to lower (an upper mast) and make secure, as alongside the lower mast.
to heave (an anchor) home.

Carpentry.

to fit the end or edge of (a board or the like) into a notch, hole, or groove.
to form (a joint) between two pieces of wood by fitting the end or edge of one into a dado of the other.

verb (used without object), housed

[houzd], /haʊzd/, hous·ing

[hou-zing]. /ˈhaʊ zɪŋ/.

to take shelter; dwell.

adjective

of, relating to, or noting a house.

for or suitable for a house: house paint.

served by a restaurant as its customary brand: the house wine.

of or being a product made by or for a specific retailer and often sold under the store's own label: You'll save money on the radio if you buy the house brand.

OTHER WORDS FOR house

1 domicile, abode.

See synonyms for house on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about house

bring down the house, to call forth vigorous applause from an audience; be highly successful: The children's performances brought down the house.

clean house. clean (def. 47).

dress the house, Theater.

to fill a theater with many people admitted on free passes; paper the house.
to arrange or space the seating of patrons in such a way as to make an audience appear larger or a theater or nightclub more crowded than it actually is.

keep house, to maintain a home; manage a household.

like a house on fire / afire, very quickly; with energy or enthusiasm: The new product took off like a house on fire.

on the house, as a gift from the management; free: Tonight the drinks are on the house.

put / set one's house in order,

to settle one's affairs.
to improve one's behavior or correct one's faults: It is easy to criticize others, but it would be better to put one's own house in order first.

Origin of house

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun h(o)us, hous(s)e, Old English hūs; cognate with Dutch huis, Low German huus, Old Norse hūs, German Haus, Gothic -hūs (in gudhūs “temple”); the verb is derivative of the noun

synonym study for house

1. House, dwelling, residence, home are terms applied to a place to live in. Dwelling is now chiefly poetic, or used in legal or technical contexts, as in a lease or in the phrase multiple dwelling. Residence is characteristic of formal usage and often implies size and elegance of structure and surroundings: the private residence of the king. These two terms and house have always had reference to the structure to be lived in. Home has recently taken on this meaning and become practically equivalent to house, the new meaning tending to crowd out the older connotations of family ties and domestic comfort. See also hotel.

OTHER WORDS FROM house

sub·house, nounwell-housed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH house

home, house (see synonym study at the current entry)

Words nearby house

houri, hourlong, hourly, hours, Housatonic, house, house agent, house arrest, houseboat, housebound, houseboy

Other definitions for house (2 of 2)

House

[ hous ]

/ haʊs /

noun

Edward Man·dell

[man-dl], /ˈmæn dl/, "Colonel House", 1858–1938, U.S. diplomat.

Son

[suhn], /sʌn/, Eddie James House, Jr., 1902–88, U.S. blues singer and guitarist.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use house in a sentence

House Democrats were starting to squirm earlier this week, fretting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s risky gamble in economic relief talks would backfire and they would go into the November elections without any new stimulus package.
Trump moves closer to Pelosi in economic aid talks, and House speaker must decide next move|Rachael Bade, Erica Werner|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
In our rankings of top 10 House races most likely to flip in November, Democrats hold five of them — including three of the most vulnerable races.
Why House Democrats have good reason to be anxious about no coronavirus relief deal|Amber Phillips|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
Vice might not have a wealth of content around high fashion, for example, but consumers of a particular fashion house might still visit the site to read about politics or tech.
‘Re-architecting the entire process’: How Vice is preparing for life after the third-party cookie|Lara O'Reilly|September 17, 2020|Digiday
The bill must still be passed by the full House and the Senate and signed by the president.
Bill to tear down federal courts’ paywall gains momentum in Congress|Timothy B. Lee|September 16, 2020|Ars Technica

Eight Democratic House committee chairs promptly dismissed the proposal on Tuesday, saying it felt short of what’s needed.
Why lawmakers may choose a more targeted approach for the second round of COVID stimulus|Aric Jenkins|September 16, 2020|Fortune
This Congress will welcome more women than ever before at 19 percent of the House and 20 percent of the Senate.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Even internally in the House, women are not getting their fair shake.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He then provides some insight into his psyche - complete with Animal House reference.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Even the arguably more democratic House is only at 10 percent black members.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
While 19 percent of the House is female, just one woman will get to chair one of its 20 committees.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a decayed house of superb proportions, but of a fashion long passed away.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
A Yankee, whose face had been mauled in a pot-house brawl, assured General Jackson that he had received his scars in battle.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
On the thirteenth of the same month they bound to the stake, in order to burn alive, a man who had two religious in his house.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
Old Mrs. Wurzel and the buxom but not too well-favoured heiress of the house of Grains were at the head of the table.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
It goes without saying that Ferns of all kinds are interesting plants to grow in the garden and house.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin

British Dictionary definitions for house (1 of 2)

house

noun (haʊs) plural houses (ˈhaʊzɪz)

a building used as a home; dwelling
(as modifier)house dog

the people present in a house, esp its usual occupants

a building used for some specific purpose
(in combination)a schoolhouse

(often capital) a family line including ancestors and relatives, esp a noble onethe House of York

a commercial company; firma publishing house
(as modifier)house style; a house journal

an official deliberative or legislative body, such as one chamber of a bicameral legislature

a quorum in such a body (esp in the phrase make a house)

a dwelling for a religious community

astrology any of the 12 divisions of the zodiacSee also planet (def. 3)

any of several divisions, esp residential, of a large school
(as modifier)house spirit

a hotel, restaurant, bar, inn, club, etc, or the management of such an establishment
(as modifier)house rules
(in combination)steakhouse

(modifier) (of wine) sold unnamed by a restaurant, at a lower price than wines specified on the wine listthe house red

the audience in a theatre or cinema

an informal word for brothel

a hall in which an official deliberative or legislative body meets

See full house

curling the 12-foot target circle around the tee

nautical any structure or shelter on the weather deck of a vessel

bring the house down theatre to win great applause

house and home an emphatic form of home

keep open house to be always ready to provide hospitality

like a house on fire informal very well, quickly, or intensely

on the house (usually of drinks) paid for by the management of the hotel, bar, etc

put one's house in order to settle or organize one's affairs

safe as houses British very secure

verb (haʊz)

(tr) to provide with or serve as accommodation

to give or receive shelter or lodging

(tr) to contain or cover, esp in order to protect

(tr) to fit (a piece of wood) into a mortise, joint, etc

(tr) nautical

to secure or stow
to secure (a topmast)
to secure and stow (an anchor)

Derived forms of house

houseless, adjective

Word Origin for house

Old English hūs; related to Old High German hūs, Gothic gudhūs temple, Old Norse hūs house

British Dictionary definitions for house (2 of 2)

House

/ (haʊs) /

noun the House

See House of Commons

British informal the Stock Exchange

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with house

house

In addition to the idiom beginning with house

house of cards

also see:

boardinghouse reach
bring down the house
clean house
eat someone out of house and home
get on (like a house afire)
keep house
on the house
open house
people who live in glass houses
put one's house in order
safe as houses

house

OTHER WORDS FOR house

Idioms about house

Origin of house

synonym study for house

OTHER WORDS FROM house

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH house

Words nearby house

Other definitions for house (2 of 2)

Words related to house

How to use house in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for house (1 of 2)

Derived forms of house

Word Origin for house

British Dictionary definitions for house (2 of 2)

Other Idioms and Phrases with house