housekeeping
Americannoun
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the maintenance of a house or domestic establishment.
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the management of household affairs.
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the management, care, and servicing of property and equipment of an industrial or commercial building or organization.
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the ongoing routine, procedures, operations, and management of a commercial enterprise, government, organization, or the like.
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Computers. system tasks, as initialization and managing peripheral devices, that must be done to permit a computer program to execute properly but that do not directly contribute to program output.
noun
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the running of a household
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money allocated for the running of a household
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organization and tidiness in general, as of an office, shop, etc
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the general maintenance of a computer storage system, including removal of obsolete files, documentation, security copying, etc
Etymology
Origin of housekeeping
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.
It was the first all-female founded and operated periodical, designed to be an alternative to other women's magazines that typically focused on housekeeping and fashion.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
A housekeeping note: This season was produced before the end of the most recent Supreme Court term.
From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026
That sent long-term rates plunging but they rebounded on Thursday, with Mark Malek, of Muriel Siebert & Co, calling it "a housekeeping move destined to be short-term, at best".
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
In late 2024, housekeeping supervisors Patsy and Elsy, who are referred to in the first lawsuit against Jenner as well, by their first names only, stepped into their leadership roles.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
I got up from bed ready to set up housekeeping at Mama’s.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
