housekeeping

American  

[haus-kee-ping] / ˈhaʊsˌki pɪŋ /

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.

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housekeeping British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of housekeeping

First recorded in 1530–40; house + keeping

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

housekeeping

Judging by the delight and indignation greeting its new housekeeping rules, we still haven’t agreed on an answer.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

A housekeeping note: This season was produced before the end of the most recent Supreme Court term.

From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026

An engineering student at London University who previously worked as a housekeeping assistant at a hospital in Birmingham.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

And finally, a housekeeping note: Markets A.M. will return Monday after the holiday weekend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

“Marriage is for housekeeping and for children. Which reminds me.”

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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Related Words

• housework

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