housekeep
Americanverb (used without object)
Etymology
Origin of housekeep
First recorded in 1835–45; back formation from housekeeping
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:
May she continue to write her charming poetry, housekeep, and defend all other keepers of the home for many more years to come.
From Time Magazine Archive
Like the old woman who lived in a shoe, the medical scientists who housekeep for vitamins have an unmanageable lot of charges.
From Time Magazine Archive
Glory’d do her part chuckin’ in, ’sides the housekeep.
From A Sunny Little Lass by Raymond, Evelyn
Eunice Emery ain't fit to housekeep for a cat.
From The Village Watch-Tower by Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith
I've always had a tremendous sympathy for women because they have to market and housekeep.
From Virginia by Glasgow, Ellen Anderson Gholson
An engineering student at London University who previously worked as a housekeeping assistant at a hospital in Birmingham.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
One of his former co-workers now instead helps his wife with housekeeping work, while at least two simply stay home, living off their savings and odd jobs, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
This includes restaurant workers like bartenders, wait staff and dishwashers; hospitality workers including concierges and housekeeping staff; as well as tour guides, personal trainers and hairdressers.
From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026
This finding challenges the long-held view that housekeeping genes play only passive roles and highlights their potential in crop improvement.
From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026
Jon is big on purity, but only in art: it doesn’t apply to his housekeeping, which is an exuberant protest against all mothers and especially his own.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
"I've housekept so long I likely know what are the belongings of a handy house;" and she too settled herself with paper and pencil and spectacles.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 17, No. 100, April, 1876 by Various
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.
