housing

¹ American  

[hou-zing] / ˈhaʊ zɪŋ /

noun

1. any shelter, lodging, or dwelling place.

2. houses collectively.

3. the act of one who houses or puts under shelter.

4. the providing of houses for a group or community.

   the housing of an influx of laborers.

5. anything that covers or protects.

   Synonyms:

   sheath, shield, casing, covering

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

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

8. Nautical.

   1. Also called bury.  the portion of a mast below the deck.

   2. Also called bury.  the portion of a bowsprit aft of the forward part of the stem of a vessel.

   3. the doubling of an upper mast.

9. a niche for a statue.

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housing ² American  

[hou-zing] / ˈhaʊ zɪŋ /

noun

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

2. housings, the trappings on a horse.

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housing ¹ British  

/ ˈhaʊzɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. houses or dwellings collectively

   2. ( as modifier )

      a housing problem

2. the act of providing with accommodation

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

4. a part designed to shelter, cover, contain, or support a component, such as a bearing, or a mechanism, such as a pump or wheel

   a bearing housing

   a motor housing

   a wheel housing

5. another word for houseline

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housing ² British  

/ ˈhaʊzɪŋ /

noun

1. archaic (often plural) another word for trappings

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Etymology

Origin of housing¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; house + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Origin of housing²

First recorded in 1690–1700; compare earlier house, Middle English hous(e), houc(e) in same sense, from Old French houce, from unrecorded Germanic hulfti- (compare Medieval Latin hultia ), akin to Middle Dutch hulfte “cover for bow and arrow,” Middle High German hulft “covering”; -ing ¹ added by association with house, housing ¹

Example Sentences

The way to do that is to first build the core of a community and then put housing around it.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

Celia got her start reporting on regional elections in her hometown for Nyack News & Views and on housing and education in Harlem for the Columbia Daily Spectator.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

Hong Kong authorities have charged two companies and seven people over the devastating fire at the Wang Fuk housing complex last November.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Veterans twice sued in federal court demanding that the VA restore housing on the campus.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

Right up until the collapse, Lippmann would pepper them with agitprop about the housing market, and his own ideas of which subprime mortgage bonds his customers should bet against.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis