housekeeping

American  

[hous-kee-ping] / ˈhaʊsˌki pɪŋ /

noun

1. the maintenance of a house or domestic establishment.

2. the management of household affairs.

3. the management, care, and servicing of property and equipment of an industrial or commercial building or organization.

4. the ongoing routine, procedures, operations, and management of a commercial enterprise, government, organization, or the like.

5. Computers. system tasks, as initialization and managing peripheral devices, that must be done to permit a computer program to execute properly but that do not directly contribute to program output.

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housekeeping British  

/ ˈhaʊsˌkiːpɪŋ /

noun

1. the running of a household

2. money allocated for the running of a household

3. organization and tidiness in general, as of an office, shop, etc

4. the general maintenance of a computer storage system, including removal of obsolete files, documentation, security copying, etc

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Etymology

Origin of housekeeping

First recorded in 1530–40; house + keeping

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

housekeeping

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

She passed as a Mexican woman to get a housekeeping job in the ranch where her mother died; later in life she found work by pretending to be a war widow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

They focused on a housekeeping gene called FveIPT2.

From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026

But always two or three stayed and set up housekeeping in the doorway.

From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

Related Words

• housework