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.
The price-target bump was a necessary bit of housekeeping after Rocket Lab’s big month.
From Barron's • Dec. 23, 2025
As Sergio Gor, the recently confirmed U.S. ambassador to India, sets up housekeeping here, wish him well.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025
Services available to tenants for a fee include personal training and private yoga instruction, dry cleaning pickup and delivery, car washing, dog walking, grocery delivery and housekeeping.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2025
What about men’s unpaid labor at home—is it natural to expect that men can make meaningful contributions to child care and housekeeping?
From Slate • Jun. 15, 2025
I bury myself in the next housekeeping article, then the League newsletter.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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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.