hutch

American  

[huhch] / hʌtʃ /

noun

hutches plural

1. a pen or enclosed coop for small animals.

   rabbit hutch.

   Synonyms:

   cote, enclosure, cage

2. a chest, cupboard, bin, etc., for storage.

3. any of various chestlike cabinets, raised on legs and having doors or drawers in front, sometimes with open shelves above.

4. a small cottage, hut, or cabin.

5. a baker's kneading trough.

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hutch British  

/ hʌtʃ /

noun

1. a cage, usually of wood and wire mesh, for small animals

2. informal a small house

3. a cart for carrying ore

4. a trough, esp one used for kneading dough or (in mining) for washing ore

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verb

1. (tr) to store or keep in or as if in a hutch

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hutches
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hutch

1275–1325; Middle English hucche, variant of whucce, Old English hwicce chest; not akin to Old French huge, huche ( ch form apparently by contamination with English word)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hutch hutches

Jack paused, grabbed a pen and stationery from the kitchen hutch, went back to his seat at the table and began to write.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026

I came across exactly one ultra-rare single-zero roulette wheel on the Strip, which felt a little bit like uncovering the hutch of the last surviving dodo.

From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2025

On a cattle ranch just east of the lighthouse, William Nunes, 27, watched as the wind ripped a calf hutch from the ground and sent it flying into the air and over a hill.

From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2024

The hutch serves both as a display for barware and serveware and as functional storage.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2023

Finally we found the television behind an old rabbit hutch and carried it down the stairs to Henry’s car.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Misting systems will be used to minimise dust after the demolition but residents are advised to shut windows, keep pets indoors and cover fish ponds and rabbit hutches.

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2025

A low table surrounded by hutches full of antique Japanese tea sets and rice bowls is set for lunch, but only with sampuru, the lifelike models of food often used by Japanese restaurants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2022

Barracks were called rabbit hutches in reports at the time.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 27, 2022

Green wallpaper with floral patterns cover the walls of the formal dining room, where china is displayed in antique hutches and still-life paintings of fruit rest on wood trim.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 25, 2020

“No place for rabbits now, but I could easy build a few hutches and you could feed alfalfa to the rabbits.”

From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck