hovel

[ huhv-uhl, hov- ]

/ ˈhʌv əl, ˈhɒv- /

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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.

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Origin of hovel

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

Words nearby hovel

Houyhnhnm, HOV, Hovawart, hove, hovea, hovel, hoven, hover, hovercraft, hover fly, hovering accent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hovel in a sentence

Pat has been living in this high-life hovel since 2008, when our mutual friend John Nicoletta convinced a couple of real estate developers to let local skids live in the building until it was torn down, which, back then, was supposed to be imminent.
The Last Aspen Ski Bums Are About to Get Evicted|lwhelan|November 9, 2021|Outside Online
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
Alessandro's face haunted him, and also the memory of Ramona's, as she lay tossing and moaning in the wretched Cahuilla hovel.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson

For several days previous, I had been actively engaged in building my own little room, and making our hovel comfortable.
Fox's Book of Martyrs|John Foxe
Maria and Sebastian were brought up in a hovel with a mud floor, and only one room, shared with the donkey and the goat.
Round the Wonderful World|G. E. Mitton
Kent, still unrecognized by Lear, endeavors to persuade him to take refuge in a hovel.
Tolstoy on Shakespeare|Leo Tolstoy
A woman was at the entrance to our hovel, looking down full at us.
The Escape of a Princess Pat|George Pearson

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

Origin of hovel

Words nearby hovel

Words related to hovel

How to use hovel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hovel

Word Origin for hovel