hovel

[ huhv-uh l, hov- ]

/ ˈhʌv əl, ˈhɒv- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR hovel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small, very humble dwelling house; a wretched hut.

any dirty, disorganized dwelling.

an open shed, as for sheltering cattle or tools.

verb (used with object), hov·eled, hov·el·ing or (especially British) hov·elled, hov·el·ling.

to shelter or lodge as in a hovel.

Words nearby hovel

hov, hov lane, hovawart, hove, hovea, hovel, hoven, hover, hover fly, hovercraft, hovering accent

Origin of hovel

1375–1425; late Middle English hovell, of uncertain origin

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

Examples from the Web for hovel

When we first meet Bob, Tomlinson treats us to a description of the hovel in which he lives.
Slaves In A Family's Past Haunt The Present|Michael Signer|August 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"She works out of a hovel, it is a broken-down building, just a shack," she said.
A Rare Meeting with Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi|Liz Goodwin|March 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Harold said nothing, and stood leaning moodily against the wall of the hovel, evidently a prey to painful thoughts.
Fort Lafayette or, Love and Secession|Benjamin Wood
She does not want to live any longer in the hovel, and would rather have a cottage.
Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm|Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

In another moment I was standing outside the hovel, my chair-rail in my hand, every muscle of me quivering.
The Island of Doctor Moreau|H. G. Wells
He ought to be taken from this hovel to another, or somewhere.
A Russian Proprietor|Lyof N. Tolstoi
He must have had a place, a hut, a palm-leaf shed, some sort of hovel where he kept his razor and his change of sleeping suits.
An Outcast of the Islands|Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for hovel

hovel

/ (ˈhʌvəl, ˈhɒv-) /

noun

a ramshackle dwelling place

an open shed for livestock, carts, etc

the conical building enclosing a kiln

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

to shelter or be sheltered in a hovel

Word Origin for hovel

C15: of unknown origin

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

hovel

noun

verb (used with object), hov·eled, hov·el·ing or (especially British) hov·elled, hov·el·ling.

Words related to hovel

Words nearby hovel

Origin of hovel

Examples from the Web for hovel

British Dictionary definitions for hovel

noun

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

Word Origin for hovel