household word
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of household word
First recorded in 1590–1600
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.
She quickly becomes a household word, a symbol of something quintessentially American.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025
Dan Fisher in 1988 was one of the first to make “intifada” a household word in America and the English-speaking world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2023
Their giant teeth — left behind in coastal sediments like spent bullets — inspired the 1843 name that has since become a household word: megalodon.
From New York Times ● Aug. 17, 2022
Zoom became, for the nation, a household word; suddenly your colleagues were arrayed on a screen in front of you like personalized, workaday “Brady Bunch” opening credits.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 12, 2022
Although his name was a household word among Permian fans, he didn’t have season tickets anymore.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
