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.
An engineering student at London University who previously worked as a housekeeping assistant at a hospital in Birmingham.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Either way, he could cast the changes not as a turn toward higher rates, but as housekeeping for a Fed that he wants to talk less.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
One of his former co-workers now instead helps his wife with housekeeping work, while at least two simply stay home, living off their savings and odd jobs, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
This includes restaurant workers like bartenders, wait staff and dishwashers; hospitality workers including concierges and housekeeping staff; as well as tour guides, personal trainers and hairdressers.
From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026
I was relieved to see an officer command a modicum of respect and wanted Konoval to stick around, despite his tsk-ing over housekeeping.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
