housing

[ hou-zing ]

/ ˈhaʊ zɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR housing ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any shelter, lodging, or dwelling place.

houses collectively.

the act of one who houses or puts under shelter.

the providing of houses for a group or community: the housing of an influx of laborers.

anything that covers or protects.

Machinery. a fully enclosed case and support for a mechanism.

Carpentry. the space made in one piece of wood, or the like, for the insertion of another.

Nautical.

Also called bury. the portion of a mast below the deck.
Also called bury. the portion of a bowsprit aft of the forward part of the stem of a vessel.
the doubling of an upper mast.

a niche for a statue.

Nearby words

housewifey, housework, houseworker, housewrecker, housey-housey, housing, housing association, housing benefit, housing development, housing estate, housing project

Origin of housing

First recorded in 1250–1300, housing is from the Middle English word husing. See house, -ing¹

SYNONYMS FOR housing

5 covering, casing, shield, sheath.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR housing ON THESAURUS.COM

Definition for housing (2 of 3)

housing

[ hou-zing ]

/ ˈhaʊ zɪŋ /

noun

a covering of cloth for the back and flanks of a horse or other animal, for protection or ornament.

housings. the trappings on a horse.

Origin of housing

1635–45; compare earlier house, Middle English hous(e), houc(e) in same sense < Old French houce < Germanic *hulfti- (compare Medieval Latin hultia), akin to Middle Dutch hulfte cover for bow and arrow, Middle High German hulft covering; -ing¹ added by association with house, housing¹

Definition for housing (3 of 3)

house

[ noun, adjective hous; verb houz ]

/ noun, adjective haʊs; verb haʊz /

noun, plural hous·es [hou-ziz] /ˈhaʊ zɪz/.

a building in which people live; residence for human beings.

a household.

(often initial capital letter) a family, including ancestors and descendants: the great houses of France; the House of Hapsburg.

a building for any purpose: a house of worship.

a theater, concert hall, or auditorium: a vaudeville house.

the audience of a theater or the like.

a place of shelter for an animal, bird, etc.

the building in which a legislative or official deliberative body meets.

(initial capital letter) the body itself, especially of a bicameral legislature: the House of Representatives.

a quorum of such a body.

(often initial capital letter) a commercial establishment; business firm: the House of Rothschild; a publishing house.

a gambling casino.

the management of a commercial establishment or of a gambling casino: rules of the house.

an advisory or deliberative group, especially in church or college affairs.

a college in an English-type university.

a residential hall in a college or school; dormitory.

the members or residents of any such residential hall.

Informal. a brothel; whorehouse.

British. a variety of lotto or bingo played with paper and pencil, especially by soldiers as a gambling game.

Also called parish. Curling. the area enclosed by a circle 12 or 14 feet (3.7 or 4.2 meters) in diameter at each end of the rink, having the tee in the center.

Nautical. any enclosed shelter above the weather deck of a vessel: bridge house; deck house.

Astrology. one of the 12 divisions of the celestial sphere, numbered counterclockwise from the point of the eastern horizon.

verb (used with object), housed [houzd] /haʊzd/, hous·ing [hou-zing] /ˈhaʊ zɪŋ/.

to put or receive into a house, dwelling, or living quarters: More than 200 students were housed in the dormitory.

to give shelter to; harbor; lodge: to house flood victims in schools.

to provide with a place to work, study, or the like: This building houses our executive staff.

to provide storage space for; be a receptacle for or repository of: The library houses 600,000 books.

to remove from exposure; put in a safe place.

Nautical.

to stow securely.
to lower (an upper mast) and make secure, as alongside the lower mast.
to heave (an anchor) home.

Carpentry.

to fit the end or edge of (a board or the like) into a notch, hole, or groove.
to form (a joint) between two pieces of wood by fitting the end or edge of one into a dado of the other.

verb (used without object), housed [houzd] /haʊzd/, hous·ing [hou-zing] /ˈhaʊ zɪŋ/.

to take shelter; dwell.

adjective

of, relating to, or noting a house.

for or suitable for a house: house paint.

of or being a product made by or for a specific retailer and often sold under the store's own label: You'll save money on the radio if you buy the house brand.

served by a restaurant as its customary brand: the house wine.

Origin of house

before 900; (noun) Middle English h(o)us, Old English hūs; cognate with Dutch huis, Low German huus, Old Norse hūs, German Haus, Gothic -hūs (in gudhūs temple); (v.) Middle English housen, Old English hūsian, derivative of the noun

SYNONYMS FOR house

1 domicile. House, dwelling, residence, home are terms applied to a place to live in. Dwelling is now chiefly poetic, or used in legal or technical contexts, as in a lease or in the phrase multiple dwelling. Residence is characteristic of formal usage and often implies size and elegance of structure and surroundings: the private residence of the king. These two terms and house have always had reference to the structure to be lived in. Home has recently taken on this meaning and become practically equivalent to house, the new meaning tending to crowd out the older connotations of family ties and domestic comfort. See also hotel.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR house ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

sub·house, nounwell-housed, adjective

Can be confused

home house (see synonym study at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for housing

They keep their heads low while running behind a large curtain covering the opening between two housing blocks.
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One night in 2004, my college boyfriend called me from inside a closet in a north Toronto housing project.
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The housing bubble was at very the center of the financial crisis that birthed Dodd-Frank.
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Like the financial sector, the housing industry is massively regulated in all sorts of ways.
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Cuomo made his own name by working on housing policy—but particularly urban housing policy.
Andrew Cuomo Ignores Rural New York|David Fontana|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That Hawkins had used it for the landing and housing of corn for his trade as a baker.
Old Boston Taverns and Tavern Clubs|Samuel Adams Drake
About thirty miles behind the line some villages were set aside for the housing and training of the new units.
Life in a Tank|Richard Haigh
One of the most difficult problems that the corporation has had to deal with was the housing of the poor.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 1|Various
We must also make some very important changes in our housing programs if we are to pursue these same basic goals.
Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to 2006|Various
The past had been most concretely that vanished and slightly sordid tenement of the current housing of the muse.
Lady Barbarina|Henry James

British Dictionary definitions for housing (1 of 4)

housing

/ (ˈhaʊzɪŋ) /

noun

houses or dwellings collectively
(as modifier)a housing problem

the act of providing with accommodation

a hole, recess, groove, or slot made in one wooden member to receive another

a part designed to shelter, cover, contain, or support a component, such as a bearing, or a mechanism, such as a pump or wheela bearing housing; a motor housing; a wheel housing

another word for houseline

British Dictionary definitions for housing (2 of 4)

housing

/ (ˈhaʊzɪŋ) /

noun

(often plural) archaic another word for trappings (def. 2)

Word Origin for housing

C14: from Old French houce covering, of Germanic origin

British Dictionary definitions for housing (3 of 4)

House

/ (haʊs) /

noun the House

See House of Commons

British informal the Stock Exchange

British Dictionary definitions for housing (4 of 4)

house

noun (haʊs) plural houses (ˈhaʊzɪz)

a building used as a home; dwelling
(as modifier)house dog

the people present in a house, esp its usual occupants

a building used for some specific purpose
(in combination)a schoolhouse

(often capital) a family line including ancestors and relatives, esp a noble onethe House of York

a commercial company; firma publishing house
(as modifier)house style; a house journal

an official deliberative or legislative body, such as one chamber of a bicameral legislature

a quorum in such a body (esp in the phrase make a house)

a dwelling for a religious community

astrology any of the 12 divisions of the zodiacSee also planet (def. 3)

any of several divisions, esp residential, of a large school
(as modifier)house spirit

a hotel, restaurant, bar, inn, club, etc, or the management of such an establishment
(as modifier)house rules
(in combination)steakhouse

(modifier) (of wine) sold unnamed by a restaurant, at a lower price than wines specified on the wine listthe house red

the audience in a theatre or cinema

an informal word for brothel

a hall in which an official deliberative or legislative body meets

See full house

curling the 12-foot target circle around the tee

nautical any structure or shelter on the weather deck of a vessel

bring the house down theatre to win great applause

house and home an emphatic form of home

keep open house to be always ready to provide hospitality

like a house on fire informal very well, quickly, or intensely

on the house (usually of drinks) paid for by the management of the hotel, bar, etc

put one's house in order to settle or organize one's affairs

safe as houses British very secure

verb (haʊz)

(tr) to provide with or serve as accommodation

to give or receive shelter or lodging

(tr) to contain or cover, esp in order to protect

(tr) to fit (a piece of wood) into a mortise, joint, etc

(tr) nautical

to secure or stow
to secure (a topmast)
to secure and stow (an anchor)

Derived Forms

houseless, adjective

Word Origin for house

Old English hūs; related to Old High German hūs, Gothic gudhūs temple, Old Norse hūs house

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with housing

house

In addition to the idiom beginning with house

house of cards

also see:

boardinghouse reach
bring down the house
clean house
eat someone out of house and home
get on (like a house afire)
keep house
on the house
open house
people who live in glass houses
put one's house in order
safe as houses

housing

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of housing

SYNONYMS FOR housing

Definition for housing (2 of 3)

housing

noun

Origin of housing

Definition for housing (3 of 3)

house

noun, plural hous·es [hou-ziz] /ˈhaʊ zɪz/.

verb (used with object), housed [houzd] /haʊzd/, hous·ing [hou-zing] /ˈhaʊ zɪŋ/.

verb (used without object), housed [houzd] /haʊzd/, hous·ing [hou-zing] /ˈhaʊ zɪŋ/.

adjective

Origin of house

SYNONYMS FOR house

Related forms

Can be confused

Examples from the Web for housing

British Dictionary definitions for housing (1 of 4)

housing

noun

British Dictionary definitions for housing (2 of 4)

housing

noun

Word Origin for housing

British Dictionary definitions for housing (3 of 4)

House

noun the House

British Dictionary definitions for housing (4 of 4)

house

noun (haʊs) plural houses (ˈhaʊzɪz)

verb (haʊz)

Derived Forms

Word Origin for house

Idioms and Phrases with housing

house