household
Americannoun
adjective
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of or relating to a household.
household furniture.
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for use in maintaining a home, especially for use in cooking, cleaning, laundering, repairing, etc., in the home.
a household bleach.
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common or usual; ordinary.
noun
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the people living together in one house collectively
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(modifier) of, relating to, or used in the running of a household; domestic
household management
Etymology
Origin of household
First recorded in 1350–1400, household is from the Middle English word houshold. See house, hold 1
Explanation
How many people does your house hold? That’s your household! A household refers to a family or group of people living together. It’s a social unit under one roof. All the people living in your house, including servants, make up your household. Don’t have any servants? Well, your roommates count as part of your household, too. In the middle of the night, your household might be asleep. Your household income could determine whether or not you get the pool in the backyard. Household can also be an adjective to describe — you guessed it — things that are in your house, like household appliances or household furniture.
Vocabulary lists containing household
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.
Through weekly appointments over nearly a decade, Zissman sat with Sydney’s mother and paid the household bills by check, handling everything from the cable bill and utilities to insurance and medical bills.
From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026
She also gave up on the neutral household color scheme and plenty of her cleaning routines, including daily vacuuming or attempting to keep the kids’ toys in their bedrooms.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
His mom was overwhelmed by the idea of sorting through all the financial details of the household and asked Wildstein to take over.
From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026
“In previous outbreaks of Andes virus, transmission between people has been associated with close and prolonged contact, particularly among household members, intimate partners and people providing medical care,” Ghebreyesus said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
Like the last person in the household to retire for the night, it would be Jefferson’s responsibility to close up the fireplace and “rake the ashes over the coals.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
