open house

noun

1

: ready and usually informal hospitality or entertainment for all comers

2

: a house or apartment open for inspection especially by prospective buyers or tenants

Examples of open house in a Sentence

Westside High School will host an open house from 3 to 7 p.m. today, and all parents are invited to attend.

colleges holding open houses for prospective students

We held an open house last week in the hopes that someone would offer to buy our house.

They kept open house, and in the evenings neighbors would stop by to talk or play music.

They always kept an open house for visitors.

Recent Examples on the Web

The goal is for city residents to provide feedback of those designs at an open house on May 8. —Elliot Mann, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2026

Then, in February, the city hosted an open house about possible plans for the site, and sought resident input via an online survey. —Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026

The office hosted a ribbon cutting and open house last week for the renovations, where Treasurer Fiona Ma thanked the state Department of General Services. —Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026

The bridge will also host an open house with various programming during the first weekend in April, according to a news release. —Sofi Zeman, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for open house

• boardinghouse
• charterhouse
• clearinghouse
• coffeehouse
• customhouse
• firehouse
• meetinghouse
• motherhouse
• packinghouse
• pilothouse
• powerhouse
• slaughterhouse

Kids Definition

open house

noun

: usually informal hospitality or entertainment for all comers