hothouse

1 of 2

noun

hot·​house ˈhät-ˌhau̇s 

1

: a greenhouse maintained at a high temperature especially for the culture of tropical plants

2

: hotbed sense 2

3

obsolete : brothel

hothouse

2 of 2

adjective

1

: grown in a hothouse

2

: suggestive of growth and development in a hothouse

a hothouse existence

also : suggesting a hothouse

a hothouse atmosphere

Synonyms

Noun

• greenhouse

Examples of hothouse in a Sentence

Noun

grows tomatoes in his hothouse all winter long

an urban enclave of bohemians that acquired a reputation for being a hothouse of creativity

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Waves of trilobite extinctions swept the oceans, and an ancient planet better known for its explosion of life now saw the ambition of this frenzied new animal world periodically stifled under a high-CO2 hothouse. —Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025

Every college town nurtures its own hothouse music subculture, and the venerable university halls of Oxford, England, are no exception. —Andrew Pulver, Air Mail, 2 Aug. 2025

Adjective

Lower carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere then cooled the Earth, turning a hothouse planet into one with a more temperate climate, like the one enjoyed by life today. —Chris Impey, The Conversation, 23 Sep. 2025

Fracas, fittingly beloved by personality-plus women such as Madonna, Martha Stewart, and Isabella Blow, dials the heady, hothouse opulence of tuberose up to 11 with the addition of jasmine, tonka bean, and musk. —April Long, Town & Country, 13 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1556, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Adjective

1771, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hothouse

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

Kids Definition

hothouse

noun

hot·​house

-ˌhau̇s

: a heated greenhouse

hothouse adjective