long house

or longhouse

noun

a communal dwelling, especially of the Iroquois and various other North American Indian peoples, consisting of a wooden, bark-covered framework often as much as 100 feet (30.5 meters) in length.

Origin of long house

First recorded in 1615–25

Words Nearby long house

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

How to use long house in a sentence

Not a soul was abroad in the midday heat, and the windows of the long house opposite were sightless.
Richard Carvel, Complete | Winston Churchill
The lights shone out from a low, long house as the car stopped under a portico.
Mavis of Green Hill | Faith Baldwin
Can we see any improvement in this rough cottage over the Indian long house?
American Inventions and Inventors | William A. Mowry
The long house, in ruins, rang with the frantic wailing of four fierce nations.
The Little Red Foot | Robert W. Chambers
The main body was at the long house, far back among the hills.
The Grey Cloak | Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for long house

long house

noun

a long communal dwelling of the Iroquois and other North American Indian peoples. It often served as a council house as well
a long dwelling found in other parts of the world, such as Borneo

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

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