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:
The GoFundMe fund-raiser was launched by Kate Jones to help cover Harrison's funeral and memorial costs, as well as household bills and essential expenses while his parents take time away from work to grieve.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
“Treat it as part of the household portfolio.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
Ultimately, for our household, we decided the cost was worth the peace of mind even if it was a bit hard to swallow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Operating under the banner “the Sound of Tomorrow,” the collective championed artists like Kaytranada, Brent Faiyaz, Bryson Tiller and Snoh Aalegra before they were household names.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
But everything in the household seemed to run more smoothly when Nurse Beverly was around.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The UK was represented at the meeting by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who said the measures would "stabilise energy supplies, build resilience in supply chains and shield households and businesses from price shocks".
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
"It does have a big impact on households, that's why consumer confidence has been tanking," KPMG's Kim told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
This comes at a time when debt among older Americans is rising, both in terms of the number of older households carrying debt and the amount borrowed.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
His 2023 study found that, among households headed by workers age 45 to 62, more than 90% would come out ahead if the workers waited until 70 to claim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Those households with residential permits qualifying them to be in Johannesburg were to be relocated in Soweto and pans of Tembisa, a black township under construction outside Johannesburg.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
