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

Ford Motor has a shortfall of 5,000 highly paid mechanics, while persistent electrician shortages inflate housing construction costs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Last week, Satzewich’s students were supposed to be researching how well different cities in Canada integrate immigrants in metrics like the economy, housing and employment.

From The Wall Street Journal

Each student then wrote a letter to his or her older self, promising immediate steps to begin caring for that elder version’s needs—such as retirement savings and housing.

From The Wall Street Journal

And not to the exclusion of bettering their lives by paying attention to the nitty and the gritty, like making housing and higher education more readily available and, yes, fixing potholes.

From Los Angeles Times

Some have asked why they cannot be seized under laws meant to prevent homes standing empty or becoming uninhabitable -- particularly in a city with a housing shortage.

From Barron's