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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
France’s economy was helped by household spending and robust exports, overcoming some of the uncertainty about the course and consequences of the conflict in the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
That is replicated across the European Union, where household electricity bills have risen 30% since 2021, according to official Eurostat figures.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
UC sets the line at the 30th percentile of California household income, recalculating each year using U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
“That money has grown significantly in the last 15 years. Their household income is now over $500,000 a year and so they’ll never be in such a low tax bracket again,” Schultz said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Like all of the enslaved people who settled into the rented presidential household on Cherry Street near the East River, Ona would have shared rooms on the third floor.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Instead, the residents of Mohenjo-daro may have cooperated to give households broad access to the resources needed for a comfortable standard of living.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
As of Thursday morning, some 22,670 households and facilities still had no power.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
These cash reserves won’t make you rich, but they are the foundation for financial stability, as they help households avoid taking on high-interest credit-card debt when surprise expenses pop up.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Do they think that households that make more than $9,436 a year are rich?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Most livestock was shipped live to be butchered in branch houses located near the households where the meat would be cooked and eaten.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
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.
