house
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: hous
ipa: /haʊs/
ipa: /hʌʊs/
ipa: /huːs/
ipa: /hæʊs/
ipa: /haʊs/
note: Local Dublin
ipa: /hæʊs/
note: Local Dublin
ipa: /hɛʊs/
ipa: /hɐʏs/
ipa: /hɛʉs/
ipa: /hɐʊs/
ipa: /hʌʊs/
rhymes: -aʊs
Forms: form: houses
form: housen
form: hice
form: hoose
form: howse
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH-der.?
Proto-Germanic *hūsą
Proto-West Germanic *hūs
Old English hūs
Middle English hous
English house
From Middle English hous, hus, from Old English hūs (“dwelling, shelter, house”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūs, from Proto-Germanic *hūsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kews-, from *(s)kewH- (“to cover, hide”).
Eclipsed non-native Middle English meson, measoun (“house”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman maisun (“house”). More at hose. The uncommon plural form housen is from Middle English husen, housen. (The Old English nominative plural was simply hūs.)
Cognates
Cognate with Scots hoose, oos (“house”), Yola heouse, houze, howze (“house”), North Frisian hüs (“house”), Saterland Frisian Huus, Húus (“house”), West Frisian hûs (“house”), Alemannic German hous, hus, husch, hüs, hüüsch (“house”), Bavarian, Cimbrian, Mòcheno haus (“house”), Central Franconian Haus, Hous, Huus (“home”), Dutch huis (“house”), Dutch Low Saxon hoes, huus (“house”), German Haus, Hauß (“house”), German Low German Huus (“house”), Limburgish hoes, Huus (“house”), Luxembourgish Haus (“house”), Vilamovian haojs, haus, hoüz (“house”), Yiddish הויז (hoyz, “house”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk hus (“house”), Elfdalian aus (“house”), Faroese, Icelandic hús (“house”), Swedish hus, hws (“house”), Crimean Gothic hus (“house”).
Senses: examples: text: This is my house and my family's ancestral home.
text: The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them,[…].
ref: 1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter III, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, →OCLC:
text: Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path […]. It twisted and turned,[…]and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 'Twas the house I'd seen the roof of from the beach.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
glosses: A structure built or serving as an abode of human beings.
glosses: A structure built or serving as an abode of human beings.
An apartment building within a public housing estate.
raw_tags: used in names
examples: text: The purposes of food are to promote growth, to supply force and heat, and to furnish material to repair the waste which is constantly taking place in the body. Every breath, every thought, every motion, wears out some portion of the delicate and wonderful house in which we live.
ref: 1892, Ella Eaton Kellogg, “Foods”, in Science in the Kitchen: A Scientific Treatise on Food Substances and Their Dietetic Properties, Together with a Practical Explanation of the Principles of Healthful Cookery, and a Large Number of Original, Palatable, and Wholesome Recipes, Revised edition, Michigan: Health Publishing Company, page 25:
glosses: A container; a thing which houses another.
examples: text: Those homeowners who bought too much house, or borrowed against inflated values are now going to be liable for their own poor decisions.
ref: 2007 November 6, “When Will the Slump End?”, in Newsweek:
glosses: Size and quality of residential accommodations; housing.
coordinate_terms: apartment
condo
condominium
flat
glosses: A building intended to contain a single household, as opposed to an apartment or condominium or building containing these.
examples: text: one that feared God with all his house
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 10:2:
glosses: The people who live in a house; a household.
examples: text: The former carriage house had been made over into a guest house.
text: On arriving at the zoo, we immediately headed for the monkey house.
glosses: A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).
examples: text: A small publishing house would have a contract with an independent fulfillment house.
text: I have a good banker in this city, but I would not wish to draw upon the house until the time when I shall draw for a round sum.
ref: 1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC:
glosses: A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).
A place of business; a company or organisation, especially a printing press, a publishing company, or a couturier.
examples: text: One more, sir, then I'll have to stop serving you – rules of the house, I'm afraid.
text: The house always wins.
text: The farce comedy which followed, When We're Married by Charles Burnham, was heartily praised, with the character man singled out for special extollation. The production filled the house.
ref: 1964, “Northwest Ohio Quarterly”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 36, page 185:
text: Frazier and Gary worked for me for free — for six months — they didn't take any money from the house. They worked for tips.
ref: 1977 August 27, Steve Savage, Susan "Suki" Eagan, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Suki, But Were Too Distracted In Chaps to Ask Her”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 8, page 9:
glosses: A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).
A place of public accommodation or entertainment, especially a public house, an inn, a restaurant, a theatre, or a casino; or the management thereof.
examples: text: To this the pauper replied that he did not want that, and that rather than be sent to the house he would look out for work.
ref: 1834, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Reports from the Commissioners, volume 29, page 169:
glosses: A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).
A workhouse.
examples: text: After her swan-song, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
text: Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.
ref: 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], chapter 2, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
glosses: The audience for a live theatrical or similar performance.
examples: text: The petition was so ridiculous that the house rejected it after minimal debate.
topics: government
politics
glosses: A building where a deliberative assembly meets; whence the assembly itself, particularly a component of a legislature.
examples: text: A curse lay upon the House of Atreus.
glosses: A dynasty; a family with its ancestors and descendants, especially a royal or noble one.
examples: text: Like a pestilence, it doth infect / The houses of the brain.
ref: 1598, Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Euery Man in His Humour. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
text: Such hate was his, when his last breath / Renounced the peaceful house of death […].
ref: 1815, Walter Scott, “(please specify the page)”, in The Lord of the Isles, a Poem, Edinburgh: […] [F]or Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; by James Ballantyne and Co., […], →OCLC:
glosses: A place of rest or repose.
examples: text: I was a member of Spenser house when I was at school.
glosses: A grouping of schoolchildren for the purposes of competition in sports and other activities.
glosses: An animal's shelter or den, or the shell of an animal such as a snail, used for protection.
examples: text: Since there was a limited number of planets, houses and signs of the zodiac, the astrologers tended to reduce human potentialities to a set of fixed types and to postulate only a limited number of possible variations.
ref: 1971, Sir Keith Vivian Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, The Folio Society, published 2012, →ISBN, page 313:
topics: astrology
human-sciences
mysticism
philosophy
sciences
glosses: One of the twelve divisions of an astrological chart.
topics: cartomancy
human-sciences
mysticism
philosophy
sciences
glosses: The fourth Lenormand card.
topics: board-games
chess
games
glosses: A square on a chessboard, regarded as the proper place of a piece.
topics: ball-games
curling
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The four concentric circles where points are scored on the ice.
glosses: Lotto; bingo.
examples: text: As the babysitter, Emma always acted as the mother whenever the kids demanded to play house.
glosses: A children's game in which the players pretend to be members of a household.
glosses: A small stand of trees in a swamp.
qualifier: sudoku
glosses: A set of cells in a sudoku puzzle which must contain each digit exactly once, such as a row, column, or 3×3 box.
topics: American-football
ball-games
football
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The end zone.
raw_tags: with “the”
Synonyms: sense: establishment
word: shop
sense: company or organisation
word: shop
Hypernyms: building
dwelling
residence
Hyponyms: alehouse
auction house
backhouse
basket house
birdhouse
boathouse
bog-house
boghouse
chapter house
coffee house
common house
Commons House
cophouse
country house
doghouse
doll's house
dosshouse
doss-house
dreamhouse
dream house
flophouse
flop-house
frame house
full house
glasshouse
God's house
Government House
Greek house
greenhouse
grow house
guest house
guest-house
guesthouse
halfway house
haunted house
house of assembly
House of Commons
house of correction
house of detention
house of God
house of ill fame
house of ill repute
House of Lords
house of office
house of worship
Houses of Parliament
icehouse
jakeshouse
lighthouse
little house
longhouse
long-house
long house
lower house
meetinghouse
meeting-house
meeting house
morthouse
move house
outhouse
playhouse
play-house
play house
poorhouse
prisonhouse
privy house
public house
publishing house
pump house
pumphouse
royal house
safehouse
school house
schoolhouse
scouthouse
shithouse
shophouse
siegehouse
skookum house
springhouse
storehouse
tea house
tiny house
town house
toy house
tribal house
upper house
warehouse
wartime house
weather house
Wendy house
White House
whorehouse
Derived terms: acceptance house
accepting house
accommodation house
acid house
action house
a house divided against itself cannot stand
a house is not a home
airhouse
ale-house
alehouse
almshouse
alms-house
ambient house
animal house
apartment house
Archie Bunker house
armshouse
art house
art-house
audit house
automated clearing house
baby-house
back house
back-house
backhouse
back of house
baghouse
bakehouse
balti house
Baltimore house
barrelhouse
basket-house
bath-house
bathhouse
bat house
bawdy house
bawdy-house
bawdy-house bottle
beachhouse
beach house
beef house
beef-house
beefhouse
beehouse
beerhouse
bellhouse
bet the house
big as a house
big house
bighouse
big room house
birdhouse
birthhouse
black-house
black house spider
blockhouse
bloodhouse
blowing house
boarding house
boarding-house
boathouse
boghouse
boilerhouse
boiling-house
bonehouse
bone-house wasp
booby house
bookhouse
booley house
boomhouse
boom-house
boom house
bottom the house
bounce house
bouncy house
box house
brewhouse
brick house
bring down the house
bring the house down
broiler house
broilerhouse
brothel house
brothel-house
bughouse
bunkhouse
burning house
cadet house
cakehouse
call house
can house
canhouse
card-house
cardhouse
card house
carehouse
carhouse
car-house
Carlton House desk
carriage house
carthouse
cat-house
cat house
cathouse
Cecil house
ceilidh house
cellhouse
chapter-house
chargehouse
charnel house
charnel-house
charterhouse
chattel house
chicken house
chickenhouse
chookhouse
chop house
chophouse
churchhouse
chute house
cider house
clean house
clearing house
clubhouse
coach house
coalhouse
cobhouse
coffeehouse
coffee-house
cohouse
coldhouse
common house gecko
common house martin
compliments of the house
compting house
conditioning house
congee house
conjee house
consoo-house
content house
cook-house
cookhouse
coolhouse
corn house
cothouse
council house
counting house
countinghouse
counting-house
country-house
courthouse
court-house
couture house
cowhouse
crack house
crackhouse
craphouse
crazyhouse
cribhouse
crimping house
Cross Houses
cubby house
culverhouse
curry house
Custom House
custom house
customhouse
customs house
customshouse
dairyhouse
deaconess-house
dead house
deadhouse
death house
deckhouse
deep house
dehouse
detached house
dice house
dishouse
disorderly house
diva house
doghouse
dog house
dollhouse
dope house
dosshouse
doss house
double house
doubthouse
dovehouse
down the house
draft house
drafthouse
draught house
draught-house
dress the house
drug house
dual house
dwelling-house
dwellinghouse
dwelling house
dye-house
dyehouse
earthhouse
eating house
eat someone out of house and home
eco-house
engine house
Eurohouse
fancy house
farm-house
farmhouse
farm house
fashion house
fat as a house
Fencehouses
Fence Houses
fern house
ferryhouse
field house
fieldhouse
firehouse
fire house
fish-house
fishhouse
fish house
Five Houses
flash house
flathouse
flophouse
folk house
forcing house
forehouse
forever house
four door house
fowlhouse
fowl-house
frater-house
frater house
frat house
free house
front-of-house
front of house
front-of-house curtain
front of the house
fuckhouse
fund house
fun house
funhouse
future house
gabberhouse
gambling house
gaming house
garden house
gashouse
gas-house egg
gate house
gatehouse
get one's house in order
get on like a house on fire
ghetto house
ghost house
giant house spider
gig-house
gig house
gighouse
gillhouse
gingerbread house
ginhouse
glasshouse
glebe-house
goathouse
gong-house
good house
go to the goat's house for wool
great house
greenhouse
grindhouse
groghouse
grubhouse
guardhouse
guesthouse
gunhouse
hall house
handbag house
hashhouse
hash house
head house
headhouse
hell house
hellhouse
hen house
henhouse
hen-house
hice
Hilton House
hip house
hizzle
hoard-house
hoghouse
honey house
hoop house
hothouse
hot-house
housage
housane
house arrest
house-arrest
houseback
house ball
house band
housebarn
house-barn
house barn
houseblessing
housebling
houseblock
houseboat
housebody
houseboi
house-bote
housebote
housebound
houseboy
house-boy
house boy
house brand
housebreak
house-breaker
housebreaker
house breaker
housebreaking
housebroken
house-broken
housebuilder
housebuilding
housebuyer
housebuying
house call
house-call
housecar
housecare
housecarl
housecat
house cat
house centipede
house church
houseclean
housecleaner
housecleaning
housecloth
house-coat
housecoat
house-commune
house cooling party
housecraft
house cricket
house curtain
house detective
house-detective
house dick
house divided
house dog
house-door
house door
housedress
house dust mite
housefather
housefellow
house finch
housefire
house flag
house-flag
house flea
house floor
housefly
housefolk
house frau
housefrock
housefront
houseful
housefurnishing
house gecko
housegirl
house god
housegod
house-green
house guest
houseguest
househead
house-heating
househelp
house hermit
household
householder
househubby
house-hunt
house-hunter
househunter
house-hunting
househusband
house husband
house in Virginia
housekeeper
house-keeper
house keeper
housekeeping
housekey
house lamb
house leader
houseleader
houseleek
house left
houseless
houselet
houselight
house lights
houselike
house-like
houseline
houseling
house lizard
housemade
house maid
house-maid
housemaid
housemaiden
housemaker
housemaking
houseman
house manager
house martin
housemaster
house master
housemate
houseminder
housemistress
house money
house moss
housemother
house mouse
house mover
house music
house negro
house nigga
house nigger
house number
house of accommodation
house of assignation
House of Burgesses
house of call
house of cards
house of commons
house of ease
house of easement
house officer
house of horrors
house of mercy
house of mirrors
house of prayer
house of refuge
house of tolerance
house organ
houseowner
house painter
housepainter
housepainting
housepants
houseparent
house party
houseperson
housepet
housephone
house phone
housepig
houseplant
house plant
house-plunder
house plunder
house points
house poor
housepost
housepride
house-proud
house proud
houseproud
houser
houseraising
house rat
house right
house-roof
houseroom
house rule
house-search
houseshare
houseshoe
house show
house shrew
house sit
house-sit
house sitter
house-sitter
house slave
houseslave
house-slipper
house slipper
housesmith
house snake
house society
house sparrow
house spider
housespouse
house style
house-to-house
housetop
house-top
house top
house trailer
house-train
house train
housetrain
house-trained
housetruck
house-wall
house wall
houseward
housewards
houseware
housewarmer
house-warming
house warming
housewarming
housewear
housewide
housewife
house-wife
house wine
housewoman
housework
houseworker
housewrap
housewrecker
house wren
housewright
housey
housey-housey
housie
housing
housy-housy
husband
hush house
hussif
hussy
husting
ice-house
ice house
icehouse
in house
in-house
insect house
interhouse
in the house
iron house
Italo house
it takes a heap of living to make a house a home
it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home
it takes a lot of living to make a house a home
jailhouse
jakeshouse
jakes house
jakes-house
jewelhouse
Jew's house
jobbing house
johnny house
jook house
joss house
joy house
juke house
keekwilee-house
keep house
kill house
kutcha house
laithe-house
laithe house
lakehouse
Lake House
laneway house
LAN house
lazar-house
lazar house
leaping house
leaping-house
lich-house
lych-house
lighthouse
light house
like a house afire
limehouse
lit-house
lockhouse
lockup house
lodgehouse
lodge house
lodge-house
lodging-house
lodging house
loghouse
Lombard house
lower house
madhouse
main house
malthouse
malt house
managed house
man of the house
manor house
market-house
mask house
masthouse
matchbox house
meat house
meeting house
meeting-house
meetinghouse
member of lower house
member of upper house
microhouse
milk-house
milk house
milkhouse
millhouse
minster house
model house
mollie house
mollie-house
Mollie house
molly house
Molly house
molly-house
monkey-house
motherhouse
move house
movie house
movie-house
mudhouse
mughouse
multihouse
music house
nail house
narrow house
neat-house
neathouse
necessary house
negro-house
Newhouse
news-house
night house
night-house
northern house martin
nut full house
nuthouse
nut-house
nut house
oast house
odorous house ant
office-house
one's house in order
on the house
open house
opera house
opera house trap
operetta house
orchard house
orehouse
outhouse
out-house
out of house and home
overhouse
oyster house
packhouse
packinghouse
palmhouse
panel house
panhouse
paper house
paper the house
parish house
parlor house
parrothouse
passage house
passage-house
peelhouse
peg house
pension house
penthouse
people's house
pesthouse
petty-house
picket-house
picket house
Picts' house
Pict's house
picture house
pie house
pigeonhouse
pilothouse
pisshouse
pithouse
plant-house
playhouse
play with house money
pleasure house
pool house
poolhouse
poor house
poorhouse
porterhouse
porthouse
posthouse
post house
post-house
posting house
pot-house
poultryhouse
powerhouse
printing-house
printing house
prison house
prisonhouse
private-wire house
privy-house
progressive house
proof house
public-house
pumphouse
punch house
put one's house in order
raghouse
ranchhouse
rasp-house
rat house
receiving house
rehouse
renthouse
rest house
resthouse
roadhouse
rock house
rock the house
rooming house
rope-house
rough house
rough-house
round house
roundhouse
rowhouse
row house
run of house
safehouse
safe house
schoolhouse
school-house
section-house
seedhouse
senate-house
set one's house in order
settlement house
shadehouse
share house
sharehouse
shaving house
shithouse
shit house
shoothouse
shophouse
shotgun house
shouse
showhouse
sickhouse
siege house
siegehouse
siege-house
skeleton in one's house
skeleton in the house
slaughterhouse
smallest room in the house
smokehouse
snow house
sober house
sober living house
society house
software house
sole house
spicehouse
spinning house
spirit house
spitalhouse
spite house
split the house
sponging house
sponging-house
spookhouse
sporting house
springhouse
spring house
spunging-house
stagehouse
starter house
statehouse
state house
station-house
stationhouse
station house
steak house
steakhouse
steeplehouse
Stenhouse
stillhouse
stilt house
stinkhouse
Stonehouse
store-house
storehouse
stormhouse
stovehouse
stroke house
study house
sugarhouse
sugar-house
sugar house
summer-house
summerhouse
summer house
Sunday house
superhouse
sweathouse
tackle-house
tacklehouse
tackle house
take it to the house
tanhouse
tan house
taphouse
teahouse
tech house
Tecla house
telescope house
tenement house
terraced house
the call is coming from inside the house
the house
the house always wins
the house down
throw stones in a glass house
tied house
tiring-house
tollhouse
toolhouse
to the house
tower house
townhouse
toyhouse
tract house
transition house
trap house
trap-house
traphouse
treasure house
treehouse
tree house
tropical house
trugging-house
try house
unhouse
unhoused
up and down house
use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house
victualling house
wafflehouse
waffle house
warehouse
warmhouse
washhouse
wash house
watchhouse
watch house
waterhouse
watering house
weigh house
weighhouse
well-house
wellhouse
wheel-house
wheel house
wheelhouse
whorehouse
whore house
winterhouse
wirehouse
witch house
woman of the house
woodhouse
woolhouse
work house
wring-house