house

noun, often attributive \ ˈhau̇s \

|Updated on: 11 Aug 2018

Examples: house in a Sentence

Definition of house

plural houses play \ˈhau̇-zəz also -səz\

1 : a building that serves as living quarters for one or a few families : home

invited them to her house for dinner

a two-family house

2 a (1) : a shelter or refuge (such as a nest or den) of a wild animal

(2) : a natural covering (such as a test or shell) that encloses and protects an animal or a colony of zooids

b : a building in which something is sheltered or stored

a carriage house

3 a astrology : one of the 12 equal sectors (see ¹sector 1a) in which the celestial sphere is divided

b astrology : a sign of the zodiac that is the seat of a planet's greatest influence

the house occupied by Jupiter

4 a : household

woke up the whole house

b : a family including ancestors, descendants, and kindred

the house of Tudor

5 a : a residence for a religious community or for students

a fraternity house

b : the community or students living in such a residence

6 a government : a legislative, deliberative, or consultative assembly; especially : one constituting a division of a bicameral body

a bill approved by both houses of Congress

b : the building or chamber where such an assembly meets

c : a quorum of such an assembly

7 a : a place of business or entertainment

a movie house

the local fish house

a house of prostitution

b (1) : a business organization

a publishing house

(2) : a gambling establishment

c : the audience in a theater or concert hall

a full house on opening night

8 curling : the circular area 12 feet in diameter surrounding the tee and within which a curling stone must rest in order to count

[from The Warehouse, Chicago dance club that pioneered the style]

: a type of dance music mixed by a disc jockey that features overdubbing with a heavy repetitive drumbeat and repeated electronic melody lines

—

houseful

play \ˈhau̇s-ˌfu̇l\ noun

—

houseless

play \ˈhau̇-sləs\ adjective

—

houselessness

noun

— on the house

: without charge : free

See house defined for English-language learners

See house defined for kids

Examples of house in a Sentence

Would you like to come to my house for dinner?
I spent the weekend just puttering around the house.
He made enough noise to wake the whole house.

Recent Examples of house from the Web

If the house is an older one, homeowners should expect an accurate estimate to reflect the cost of rebuilding the structure to conform to current codes.

— ron hurtibise, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Do you have enough homeowner insurance? Here's how to find out," 13 July 2018
The house, designed by architect Richard Powers for a utilities magnate, is structurally sound.

— blair kamin, chicagotribune.com, "Evanston plan to demolish Harley Clarke mansion: Public vision or hidden agendas?," 13 July 2018
Bongwan laughs off the accusation, then leaves the house, and Hong presents several shots of him walking down empty streets.

— ben sachs, Chicago Reader, "Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee's real-life affair yields a trio of films about infidelity," 12 July 2018
There is plenty of free parking at the court house next door, and a group of Main Street merchants are participating, along with the usual farmers and craftsmen.

— janet kusterer, Howard County Times, "Lunch at La Palapa and other signs of a comeback [Mostly Main Street]," 12 July 2018
Garvin then says a child who was supposed to sleep over at the house was dropped off around 7:30 p.m., walked inside and discovered the bodies.

— CBS News, "Police, neighbors shed light on Delaware family killed in apparent murder-suicide," 11 July 2018
According to real estate website Trulia, the house in question is a $25,000/month luxury pad in the West Hollywood neighborhood of L.A.

— ruby buddemeyer, Marie Claire, "See Inside Kendall Jenner and Ben Simmons' Rumored Summer Home," 10 July 2018
Tau is, in a sense, the house itself, the artificial intelligence (voiced, the credits insist, by Gary Oldman) that runs it.

— jason kehe, WIRED, "Sci-Fi Invades Netflix—as They Both Invade Your Home," 9 July 2018
Stanfill’s mother’s house was not in a mandatory evacuation area, but the family just wanted to be safe.

— pauline repard, latimes.com, "18 structures lost in Alpine fire that hopscotched through neighborhood," 7 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'house.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of house

Middle English hous, from Old English hūs; akin to Old High German hūs house

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

house Synonyms

Synonyms

abode, diggings, domicile, dwelling, fireside, habitation, hearth, hearthstone, home, lodging, pad, place, quarters, residence, roof;

bungalow, cabin, casita, chalet, cottage;

duplex, ranch, ranch house, saltbox, split level, townhome, town house, tract house, triplex;

apartment, apartment house, condominium, flat, tenement, tenement house, walk-up;

penthouse, salon, suite;

barracks, billet, boardinghouse, dorm, dormitory, lodging house, lodgment (or lodgement), room(s), rooming house;

castle, château, countryseat, estate, hall, manor, manor house, mansion, palace, villa;

farmhouse, grange, hacienda, homestead;

hermitage, manse, parsonage, rectory, vicarage;

hovel, hut, hutch, shack, shanty;

house

verb \ ˈhau̇z \

Definition of house

housed; housing

transitive verb

1 a : to provide with living quarters or shelter

a place to house their guests

b : to store in a building

the barn where they house their boat

2 : to encase, enclose, or shelter as if by putting in a house (see ¹house)

so timorous a soul housed in so impressive a body
—A. W. Long

3 : to serve as a shelter or container for : contain

buildings that house government offices

intransitive verb

: to take shelter : lodge

See house defined for English-language learners

Examples of house in a Sentence

More prisons are needed to house the growing number of inmates.
The museum houses an impressive collection of jewels.
The carpenter built casing to house the hot water pipes.

Recent Examples of house from the Web

There is a mother-daughter duo organizing against excessive police violence and a Black Panthers member working to house the displaced.

— sadia hassan, Longreads, "Silence is a Lonely Country: A Prayer in Twelve Parts," 13 July 2018
As Cooley mentions, each team is housed within luxurious hotels and every player is granted his own room, typically priced at $115 per weeknight and $210 on weekend evenings.

— jake fischer, SI.com, "The Economics of a Las Vegas Summer League Invite," 12 July 2018
Within 1 minute of the detection, the facility sent out an automatic notification, alerting other astronomers to the find and relaying coordinates to the patch of sky that seemed to house the particle's source.

— mike wall, NBC News, "High-energy 'ghost particle' traced to distant galaxy in astronomy breakthrough," 12 July 2018
That isn’t always the case for companies that make TV shows—often housed within companies that also have units making movies.

— michael rapoport, WSJ, "Streaming TV or Movie? Why It Matters to Amazon’s Profits," 8 July 2018
And in addition to 11 crew and 18 scientist berths, the boat needs to house three laboratories.

— megan geuss, Ars Technica, "A hydrogen-powered research boat has many advantages over diesel, lab says," 5 July 2018
Once the plan is fully in place, which is expected to be by 2025, the buildings are expected to house only those programs, administrators have said.

— staff report, Aurora Beacon-News, "East Aurora receives $675,000 grant to partially cover shift to STEM, STEAM," 2 July 2018
More than 2,000 children were separated from their parents between April and June, and the Trump administration has considered erecting tent cities to house the unaccompanied migrant children.

— allison kite, kansascity, "Palin, ‘very angry’ with parents crossing the border, blames them for separations," 28 June 2018
The short answer: Donations of money, clothing or messages to cheer up children are needed most at Arizona agencies housing children.

— mary jo pitzl, azcentral, "'This is ripping my heart out': How to help migrant kids held in shelters," 21 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of house

see ¹house

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

house Synonyms

Synonyms

box (in), cage, closet, coop (up), corral, encase, enclose (also inclose), envelop, fence (in), hedge, hem (in), immure, include, mew (up), pen, wall (in);

encircle, encompass, enfold, enframe, enlace, frame, ring, surround;

armor, cocoon, encapsulate, encapsule, encyst, ensheathe, ensphere, enwomb;

House

biographical name \ ˈhau̇s \

Definition of House

Edward Mandell 1858–1938 Colonel House American diplomat

HOUSE Defined for English Language Learners

house

noun

Definition of house for English Language Learners

: a building in which a family lives
: the people who live in a house
: a structure or shelter in which animals are kept

house

verb

Definition of house for English Language Learners

: to provide shelter or a living space for (someone)
: to be a shelter for (something) : to store or contain (something)
: to surround or enclose (something) in order to protect it

HOUSE Defined for Kids

house

noun \ ˈhau̇s \

Definition of house for Students

plural houses \ˈhau̇-zəz\

1 : a place built for people to live in

2 : something (as a nest or den) used by an animal for shelter

3 : a building in which something is kept

a carriage house

4 : ¹household

Her noise woke up the whole house.

5 : a body of persons assembled to make the laws for a country

The United States Congress is made up of two houses.

6 : a business firm

a publishing house

7 : the audience in a theater or concert hall

8 : family 2

the house of Windsor

— on the house

: free of charge

Dessert is on the house.

house

verb \ ˈhau̇z \

Definition of house for Students

housed; housing

1 : to provide with living quarters or shelter

2 : contain 2

All three movies are housed in a single set.

Law Dictionary

house

noun

legal Definition of house

1 a : a building (as a single or multiple family house, apartment, or hotel room) serving as living quarters and usually including the curtilage

b : a building (as one's residence or a locked place of business) in which one is entitled to protection (as from warrantless searches and seizures) under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

2 a : a legislative assembly especially that constitutes a division of a bicameral body

b : the building or chamber where such an assembly meets

c : a quorum of such an assembly