Synonyms

housemother

American

[hous-muhth-er] / ˈhaʊsˌmʌð ər /

noun

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

housemotherly adjective

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.

And then, there was Charlotte Rae, who played the wise and patient housemother Mrs. Garrett.

From Fox News • Dec. 18, 2021

She also replaced Charlotte Rae in 1986 as the housemother to a group of female adolescents on “The Facts of Life,” staying with the NBC sitcom until its cancellation in 1988.

From Washington Post • Jan. 27, 2021

Sagar Nepali, a sturdy, 11-year-old boy with warm, determined black eyes, wearing a dirt-stained black hooded sweatshirt, is playing with a packet of temporary tattoos given to him and his friends by their housemother.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2015

“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

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

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023