hovel
Americannoun
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a small, very humble dwelling house; a wretched hut.
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any dirty, disorganized dwelling.
-
an open shed, as for sheltering cattle or tools.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a ramshackle dwelling place
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an open shed for livestock, carts, etc
-
the conical building enclosing a kiln
verb
Etymology
Origin of hovel
1375–1425; late Middle English hovell, of uncertain origin
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.
Eventually they squeezed into a hovel before being discovered by a turncoat cabinet member.
From Salon • Apr. 8, 2024
“I used to leap out of the hovel semi-naked every night, shouting impenetrable Shakespearean mad talk,” he said.
From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2023
"I was left in this crowded backstreet hovel in Halifax, while my sister went off to a rather grand life."
From BBC • May 14, 2022
“I wanted a hovel, a hut,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2021
My parents thought it might cheer me up if I could escape from our hovel and visit a cousin who lived a few hours away in East Africa.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
