full house

noun

plural full houses

1

: a poker hand containing three of a kind and a pair see poker illustration

2

: a theater, concert hall, etc. that is completely filled with spectators

Nevertheless, Into Great Silence played to a full house for two months at one of the city's hippest independent movie theaters.

—Michael Boudway

Examples of full house in a Sentence

a singer performing before a full house

A hand with three kings and two tens is a full house.

Recent Examples on the Web

This is a remarkable but sensible change in a particularly tough time for restaurants, for despite near-full houses most nights at Eleven Madison Park (EMP) business was lagging, and highly profitable private events have fewer and fewer bookings. —John Mariani, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025

The home is equipped with an energy-efficient, full house generator. —Karen A. Avitabile, Hartford Courant, 20 July 2025

Republicans, meanwhile, are expecting a full house. —Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal, 17 July 2025

To a full house on opening night, Benito delivered three hours of spectacle, celebration, and pure corazón boricua, cementing Puerto Rico as the world’s main stage. —Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 12 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1701, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for full house

• alehouse
• almshouse
• backhouse
• baghouse
• bakehouse
• bathhouse
• bauhaus
• blockhouse
• boathouse
• brewhouse
• bunkhouse
• clubhouse