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
They began spot-spraying with a pesticide called malathion, which was about to become a household word.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2024
Education funding rates for incarcerated students were set in 1995, when Microsoft was barely a household word.
From Seattle Times • May 9, 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
The name David W. Carter High School would become a household word also.
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.
