house-raising

American  

[hous-rey-zing] / ˈhaʊsˌreɪ zɪŋ /

noun

1. a gathering of persons in a rural community to help one of its members build a house.

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Etymology

Origin of house-raising

An Americanism dating back to 1695–1705

Example Sentences

“They framed the whole house, and the garage, in three days. Thirty journeymen framers. Because of her,” said Koerner, his voice breaking as he recalled the house-raising that began in mid-July.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2025

Burritt’s firm got into house-raising around then—one of many outfits that saw an opportunity in the stimulus that followed Sandy.

From Slate

It was just like an old-fashioned house-raising bee, except that it took place in the age of the assembly line and the publicity man.

From Time Magazine Archive

What lends life to the sport is the fact that everybody's in it—it's the team play of the open-hearth, like a house-raising in the community.

From Steel The Diary of a Furnace Worker by Walker, Charles Rumford

My hiding-place on a granite crag allowed me a good view of the work,—the cutting and transportation of the little logs, the dam-building, and the house-raising.

From Wild Life on the Rockies by Mills, Enos Abijah