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housekeep

American  
[haus-keep] / ˈhaʊsˌkip /

verb (used without object)

housekept, housekeeping
  1. to keep or maintain a house.


Etymology

Origin of housekeep

First recorded in 1835–45; back formation from 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.

See Examples For:

Like the old woman who lived in a shoe, the medical scientists who housekeep for vitamins have an unmanageable lot of charges.

From Time Magazine Archive

May she continue to write her charming poetry, housekeep, and defend all other keepers of the home for many more years to come.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Mrs. Goodale's gone, too, and there ain't nobody else to housekeep for us," Rosslyn added plaintively, "'cept Mercy."

From Tabitha's Vacation by Ruth Alberta Brown

I have to housekeep, to receive visitors, to write notes about nothing, and to think of the future.

From The Irrational Knot Being the Second Novel of His Nonage by Bernard Shaw

"You'd better come and housekeep for me then, Bessie."

From The Works of Rudyard Kipling One Volume Edition by Rudyard Kipling

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

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

Also in Weekend Reads: Robotic housekeeping, how to save on a wedding, and advice from The Moneyist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

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

I call all the hotels I’d filled out housekeeping applications at weeks ago—the Hyatt, Holiday Inn, Econo Lodge, Hojo’s, Best Western, plus a half dozen locally run guest houses.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

"I've housekept so long I likely know what are the belongings of a handy house;" and she too settled herself with paper and pencil and spectacles.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 17, No. 100, April, 1876 by Various

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