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:
Why wait for the housekeeper to make that trip to the garden shed for hedge clippers?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Apparently my 2 a.m. self is part snack-seeking raccoon, part conscientious housekeeper.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Yet, the technology is still a long way from replacing what a skilled factory worker or hotel housekeeper can do, in the view of many specialists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
He now owes nearly $13 million to the housekeeper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Hannah had been the Drews' housekeeper ever since Nancy's mother died, when she was three years old.
From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene
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
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
Avila alleged in her lawsuit that she and sister Maria Avila were hired in November 2020 as housekeepers at Brown’s home in Tarzana.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
If Musk fails, he only earns his $54,080 salary, or about half of what unionized hotel housekeepers make in Manhattan.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
“I’ve heard of Rumors and Whisperings. The housekeepers swear by it. Maybe we should be thorough...”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
