house

noun, often attributive

\ˈhau̇s

plural houses\ ˈhau̇-zəz

also -səz

Definition of house

(Entry 1 of 3)

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

2a(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

3a astrology : one of the 12 equal sectors (see sector entry 1 sense 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

4a : household woke up the whole house

b : a family including ancestors, descendants, and kindred the house of Tudor

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

b : the community or students living in such a residence

6a 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

7a : 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

9 [ 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

on the house

: without charge : free

house

verb

\ˈhau̇z

housed; housing

Definition of house (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1a : 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 house entry 1) 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

House

biographical name

\ˈhau̇s

Definition of House (Entry 3 of 3)

Edward Mandell 1858–1938 Colonel House American diplomat

Other Words from house Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about house

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Other Words from house

Noun

houseful \ ˈhau̇s-ˌfu̇l

\ noun

houseless \ ˈhau̇-sləs

\ adjective

houselessness noun

Examples of house in a Sentence

Noun

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.

Verb

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 on the Web: Noun

Photo: Linda Cicero, Stanford News One day, rooftop solar panels could pull double-duty: harvesting energy from the Sun while also cooling the house below. — Angela Chen, The Verge, "How solar panels could cool our homes while harvesting energy," 12 Nov. 2018 There haven't been any more notable seat flips in the house since elections in Florida and Virginia gave Republican spots to Democrats. — Lucy Diavolo, Teen Vogue, "2018 Midterm Congressional Election Results: Which Party Is Winning the House and the Senate?," 7 Nov. 2018 The house had been built 200 feet from the well some 20 years after the well had been sited. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "States will vote on these energy and environment issues in midterm elections," 4 Nov. 2018 Lucky Jupiter only goes over this region once every 12 years (its last journey through the fifth house was in 2006), so this motion is definitely something to celebrate. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "What November's Leo Horoscope Means for You," 28 Oct. 2018 Thankfully, the cast didn't have to put too much elbow grease into the house's decorations. — Jennifer Aldrich, Country Living, "Hallmark's 'Christmas at Pemberley Manor' Was Filmed in This Connecticut Town You Can Visit," 27 Oct. 2018 Public hearings—and hangings—reportedly took place on the grounds before the Greek-revival-style house was built, and Yankee Jim, whose ghost stomps around upstairs, or so the story goes, was hanged on the property. — Condé Nast Traveler, "8 Most Haunted Cities In America and Why You Should Visit," 18 Oct. 2018 A few years ago the firewood stacks beside the house attracted eyes from the road. — Popular Mechanics, "When Storms Fell the Trees, Father and Son Make the Most of the Mess," 13 Oct. 2018 In what could only be described as a freak accident, authorities say Michael's powerful winds lifted the portable structure high into the air and slammed it back down on the house. — Kate Brumback, Fox News, "Georgia girl, 11, dies as Michael hurls debris through roof," 12 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The next day in Williamson County, Texas, north of Austin, commissioners voted to end a contract for a facility that houses immigrant women. — Andrea Castillo, latimes.com, "Contra Costa County cuts ties with ICE, ending contract for jailing immigrant detainees," 12 July 2018 The building that houses the temple started life as a livery stable but was gutted by fire in 1913. — Maria L. La Ganga, idahostatesman, "What’s behind ’60s-era paneling at El Korah Shrine? A ballroom’s worth of ’20s art.," 12 July 2018 Blockchain is a secure digital database that can house a ledger of transactions, distributed across multiple computers. — Lara O’reilly, WSJ, "Big Advertisers Embrace Blockchain to Root Out Digital Spending Waste," 12 July 2018 Last year saw the opening of a new $700 million student village, which has housing for 2,500 undergrads, a sun-baked quad presided over by a clocktower, and commercial spaces that house a Target, Trader Joe’s, and CorePower Yoga. — Alex Bhattacharji, Town & Country, "Can USC Survive Scandal and Shed Its Spoiled-Kid Reputation Once and For All?," 10 July 2018 Trump has since issued an executive order that will house parents and children caught crossing the U.S. border together, rather than apart. — Casey Quackenbush, Time, "This Cathedral Put a Nativity Scene in a Cage to Protest President Trump's Immigration Policy," 4 July 2018 The floorplan connects the media center with the main classroom building by adding seven new classrooms that will house a writing room, foreign language center and other elective courses. — Zahria Rogers, The Courier-Journal, "St. Xavier High School submits plans for $6 million library renovation," 3 July 2018 The Indian Hill home features a gourment kitchen large enough for catering, a garage complex that can house more than 25 cars, a pool and a pool house. — Randy Tucker, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati's most expensive home sold for $5M," 3 July 2018 Located in central Columbia on Patuxent Woods Drive, the campus is adjacent to the NonProfit Collaborative, a building that houses 16 nonprofit agencies that opened last year. — Kate Magill, Howard County Times, "County’s Community Resources Campus getting more tenants," 2 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.

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More Definitions for house

house

noun

English Language Learners Definition of house

(Entry 1 of 2)

: 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

English Language Learners Definition of house (Entry 2 of 2)

: 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

See the full definition for house in the English Language Learners Dictionary

house

noun

\ˈhau̇s

plural houses\ ˈhau̇-zəz \

Kids Definition of house

(Entry 1 of 2)

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 : household entry 1 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 sense 2 the house of Windsor

on the house

: free of charge Dessert is on the house.

house

verb

\ˈhau̇z

housed; housing

Kids Definition of house (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to provide with living quarters or shelter

2 : contain sense 2 All three movies are housed in a single set.

house

noun

Legal Definition of house

1a : 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

2a : 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