housekeeping

[hous-kee-ping]

noun

1. the maintenance of a house or domestic establishment.

2. the management of household affairs.

3. the management, care, and servicing of property and equipment of an industrial or commercial building or organization.

4. the ongoing routine, procedures, operations, and management of a commercial enterprise, government, organization, or the like.

5. 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.

housekeeping

/ ˈhaʊsˌkiːpɪŋ /

noun

1. the running of a household

2. money allocated for the running of a household

3. organization and tidiness in general, as of an office, shop, etc

4. the general maintenance of a computer storage system, including removal of obsolete files, documentation, security copying, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of housekeeping¹

First recorded in 1530–40; house + keeping

Example Sentences

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

Given that the boat serves excellent food, top-shelf liquor, free Wi-Fi and twice-daily housekeeping, even my modest math skills calculated that this was a very good deal indeed.

From Salon

His funeral was attended by hundreds, from school children to renowned scientists and even his housekeeping staff, underscoring the profound impact he had on society.

From BBC

In the most recent figures, for 2023-24, the biggest items were property maintenance and staff payroll, with smaller amounts for travel and hospitality and housekeeping.

From BBC

"Cleaning up, proofing or housekeeping. These are the top three things that we'd always recommend to everyone."

From BBC

Related Words

• housework