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housemother

American  
[hous-muhth-er] / ˈhaʊsˌmʌð ər /

noun

  1. a woman in charge of a residence, especially for children, students, or young women, who acts as hostess, chaperon, and occasionally as housekeeper.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of housemother

First recorded in 1830–40; house + mother 1

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:

Before long, a housemother at the school was punishing them for it.

From Washington Post Jun. 16, 2021

The late Charlotte Rae, who played housemother Edna Garrett, passed away in 2018 at age 92.

From Fox News Apr. 9, 2019

“The Facts of Life,” which ran from 1979 to 1988, centered on a group of boarding school girls under the guidance of a housemother played by Charlotte Rae.

From New York Times Mar. 13, 2015

Recently, on Harris' daily visit to the yearlings, a mare acting as housemother was calming a group of fillies — including a Chrome look-alike that is one of his two full sisters.

From Los Angeles Times

The housemother gave me my room number and then sent me upstairs.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

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