housekeeper
Americannoun
-
a person, often hired, who does or directs the domestic work and planning necessary for a home, as cleaning or buying food.
-
an employee of a hotel, hospital, etc., who supervises the cleaning staff.
noun
-
a person, esp a woman, employed to run a household
-
a person who is not an efficient and thrifty domestic manager
-
a person who is an efficient and thrifty domestic manager
Other Word Forms
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.
Sabbagh said the owner of the building, who lived on the eighth floor, was also killed, as well as an elderly man, his son and their Ethiopian housekeeper who lived on the third.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
Kylie Jenner is being sued by a second housekeeper who alleges she suffered cruel and unusual treatment while working for the beauty mogul.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
She hires her mother Bokhee as her chef and assistant, and her father as her driver and housekeeper.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
And Madame Garnier, a housekeeper at the German-run maternity home, is working for the Resistance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
How could I live alone with only a housekeeper to care for me? he wanted to know.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
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.
