household
Americannoun
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households
plural
adjective
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of or relating to a household.
household furniture.
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for use in maintaining a home, especially for use in cooking, cleaning, laundering, repairing, etc., in the home.
a household bleach.
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common or usual; ordinary.
noun
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the people living together in one house collectively
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(modifier) of, relating to, or used in the running of a household; domestic
household management
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of household
First recorded in 1350–1400, household is from the Middle English word houshold. See house, hold 1
Explanation
How many people does your house hold? That’s your household! A household refers to a family or group of people living together. It’s a social unit under one roof. All the people living in your house, including servants, make up your household. Don’t have any servants? Well, your roommates count as part of your household, too. In the middle of the night, your household might be asleep. Your household income could determine whether or not you get the pool in the backyard. Household can also be an adjective to describe — you guessed it — things that are in your house, like household appliances or household furniture.
Vocabulary lists containing household
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:
For a two-person household, 400% of the poverty line — according to the 2025 guidelines that apply to 2026 — is $84,600.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Given nearly every household in America had a cable subscription during ESPN’s heyday, that equated to many billions of dollars in extremely high-margin revenue to Disney, delivered reliably and predictably every single year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
And its 15 teams feature a growing stable of household names, led by Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Lives are being put at risk because of refuse fires sparked by people incorrectly binning their batteries and electrical goods in household waste, a union boss has warned.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Rural school was sporadic; household chores—scrubbing shirts, sweeping ashes, carrying wood and water—were endless.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Nevertheless, domestic demand was the primary driver of growth as households kept spending despite the squeeze on incomes caused by higher energy prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Meanwhile, close to 26,000 households across Chiba prefecture were without power, the disaster management office said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
That’s because many lower-income households owe little or no federal income tax, so they can’t profit from the tax breaks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The rains, which authorities have described as "unprecedented", cut power to more than 20,000 households while 7,000 travellers were stranded overnight at Tokyo's Narita airport.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Class informed everything from the circumstances of their heart attacks to the emergency care each received, the households they returned to, and the jobs they hoped to resume.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
