Synonyms

house-train

American

[hous-treyn] / ˈhaʊsˌtreɪn /

verb (used with object)

British.

to housebreak.

house-train British

verb

(tr) to train (pets) to urinate and defecate outside the house or in a special place, such as a litter tray

"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 Word Forms

house-trained adjective

Etymology

Origin of house-train

First recorded in 1920–25

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.

I sure hope Coach Lake and his staff get the Huskies house-trained soon.

From Seattle Times

Not all dogs are house-trained and not all friends merit invitations to stay the night.

From Washington Post

Once a dog is fully house-trained, switch to a more spacious crate.

From Seattle Times

“When properly used, a crate is the easiest way to house-train and manage a puppy, because dogs come with a natural inhibition against soiling their own den.”

From Washington Post

It has added time to house-train a puppy.

From Washington Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023