house-to-house

[ hous-tuh-hous ]

/ ˈhaʊs təˌhaʊs /

adjective

conducted from one house to the next: a house-to-house survey.

QUIZZES

DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!

We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?

Question 1 of 11

Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?

owl

crow

piranha

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of house-to-house

First recorded in 1855–60

Words nearby house-to-house

house sparrow, house spider, house staff, house style, house surgeon, house-to-house, housetop, house trailer, house-train, house-trained, House Un-American Activities Committee

Example sentences from the Web for house-to-house

Inoculations were begun on 24th July in two wards of the town, and a daily house-to-house inspection was instituted.
Experiments on Animals|Stephen Paget
Should he decide to make a house-to-house canvass, he had already paved the way in at least one home.
Trading Jeff and his Dog|James Arthur Kjelgaard
The house-to-house visitation was carried out with but little real opposition, and with a great deal of satisfaction.
The Sanitary Evolution of London|Henry Lorenzo Jephson
To-morrow a house-to-house inspection will be made of the remaining and inhabited portion of the cities and boroughs.
The Johnstown Horror|James Herbert Walker

In the smaller towns this proclamation was made by the town-crier or, if there were none, by house-to-house notification.
A History of The Inquisition of Spain; vol. 2,|Henry Charles Lea

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