housekeeper
Americannoun
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housekeepers
plural
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a person, often hired, who does or directs the domestic work and planning necessary for a home, as cleaning or buying food.
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an employee of a hotel, hospital, etc., who supervises the cleaning staff.
noun
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a person, esp a woman, employed to run a household
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a person who is not an efficient and thrifty domestic manager
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a person who is an efficient and thrifty domestic manager
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of housekeeper
First recorded in 1375–1425, housekeeper is from the late Middle English word houskeper. See house, keeper
Explanation
A housekeeper is someone whose job involves cleaning other people's houses. In some cases, a housekeeper also cooks meals for her employers. It was once common in many countries for wealthy families to employ a live-in housekeeper, who may have been called a maid or a servant. Today it's less typical, although some families hire workers to clean occasionally — these people might come once a week and are usually called <>housecleaners rather than housekeepers. The word uses the sense of keep that means "maintain or preserve order."
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:
He said she had the help of a full-time nanny who doubled as a personal secretary, and a housekeeper who worked 15 hours a week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
She has a housekeeper, but how does she manage to keep everything dust free?
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Last month, I visited a Hollywood neighborhood where one frustrated resident hired her housekeeper to document chronic problems related to homelessness, illegal dumping and criminal activity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
The housekeeper also recalled the days leading up to Simmons’ death, revealing that he had suffered a fall the night before he died.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
He was listening to a tiny, fox-faced lady whom I knew to be a housekeeper in the dorms.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Patricia Avila alleged in her 2021 suit that she and Maria Avila were hired in November 2020 as housekeepers at Brown’s home in Tarzana.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
“It is so common to have house cleaners, housekeepers ... but why isn’t there someone that you can rely on as a second set of hands to do anything you would do for your family?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Tips make up a significant portion of the income for millions of servers, housekeepers, taxi drivers, and hairstylists across the United States.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
The two housekeepers denied that conversation with Brown took place, and said the language barrier would have made such a discussion unlikely.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Even the affluent young are increasingly unlikely to spend their summers learning how the “other half” lives, as lifeguards, waitresses, or housekeepers at resort hotels.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
