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:
Moderate activities included brisk walking, doubles tennis, leisurely swimming, and household tasks such as cleaning windows, vacuuming, or mowing the lawn.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Both of McKinney’s parents died before he was 5, and he was raised by his oldest sister in a cramped household with half a dozen other children in Passaic, N.J.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
The firms behind the wave—including Apollo, Blackstone, Blue Owl, Carlyle and KKR, as well as much smaller shops—are aiming to get access to the household wealth of individual investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Balshaw is essentially an inverted Arthur Fery - the French-born British number one who became a household name with a stunning run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
As manager of the household, Leah kept their earnings and ran their schedule.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Between July and September, the country's glaciers released approximately 2.2 trillion liters of water, an amount exceeding four times the drinking water consumed by Swiss households in an entire year.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
The result is a sharp, late jump in utility bills for households, just as broader European inflation shows signs of cooling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Cornwall Council and Devon County Council have money available for households struggling with increasing heating oil costs from their crisis resilience funds, which are provided by the government.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
The share of households younger than 35 that owned a vehicle last year fell to 79.4% from 82.1% in 2019, according to data from the Federal Reserve.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
By 1922, ten million American households owned a radio receiver - up from just sixty thousand in 1919 - many of which were homemade ‘crystal’ sets.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
