housewife
Americannoun
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Sometimes Offensive. a married woman who manages her own household, especially as her principal occupation.
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British. a sewing box; a small case or box for needles, thread, etc.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a woman, typically a married woman, who keeps house, usually without having paid employment
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Also called: hussy. huswife. a small sewing kit issued to soldiers
Sensitive Note
Most people, married or unmarried, find the term housewife perfectly acceptable. But it is sometimes perceived as insulting, perhaps because it implies a lowly status (“She’s just a housewife”) or because it defines an occupation in terms of a woman's relation to a man. Homemaker is a fairly common substitute.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of housewife
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English hus(e)wif; see origin at house, wife
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.
See Examples For:
"The loss of the leader is heavier than losing our parents," Hoda, a 35-year-old housewife, told AFP news agency.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
The housewife was accompanying a friend who lost everything.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
In 1899 Kate Chopin’s novel “The Awakening,” about a mutineering New Orleans housewife, challenged conventions of marriage and motherhood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Even before her husband’s death and her takeover as CEO of TPUSA, she was a highly-educated career woman only playing at being the demure housewife for his audiences.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
And I know weird—I’m probably the very definition of weird—but when people come to the house, it’s like she turns into some suburban housewife cyborg.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Tradwife content whitewashes history, but an honest look shows that contempt for housewives was a widespread theme in the past.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2026
German defence giant Rheinmetall on Sunday sought to smooth over a row caused by comments from its boss comparing Ukrainian factories producing drones to "housewives" making weapons in their kitchens.
From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026
Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In nonprofit has shed about a quarter of its staff as the founder focuses the feminist organization on pushing back against the “tradwife” and manosphere movements that prioritize women’s roles as housewives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
Britain's first Winter Olympics gold in 18 years had been won by a group of Scottish housewives in an odd little sport.
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026
He sold milk door-to-door to housewives, straight from a cow.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
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.
