housekeeping
noun
house·keep·ing
ˈhau̇s-ˌkē-piŋ 
1
a
: the management of a house and home affairs
… coming home to husbands who won't share in the housekeeping …—
The Wilson Quarterly
The Wilson QuarterlyThe first defense against insect infestation is good housekeeping (regular vacuuming) to remove eggs and larvae from the fabrics.—Sara J. Wolf
Sara J. Wolf
b
: the work or activity of cleaning and preparing rooms for customers (as in a hotel)
—often used before another noun
housekeeping services
took a housekeeping job at a nearby hotel
also
: the department or employees responsible for doing such work
If you need fresh towels you can call housekeeping.
2
: the care and management of property and the provision of equipment and services (as for an industrial organization)
3
: the routine tasks that must be done in order for a system to function or to function efficiently
performing some computer housekeeping by deleting old files
Examples of housekeeping in a Sentence
We took the computer offline to do some basic housekeeping.
Recent Examples on the Web
Beecher insisted housekeeping was in fact scientific—cooking as chemistry, labor as physics.
—Literary Hub, 4 May 2026
But nonmedical caregiving — like meal preparation, housekeeping and personal hygiene assistance — costs on average $80,000 a year.
—Allison Aubrey, NPR, 4 May 2026
Genny Marconcini, housekeeping manager at the Grand Hotel Victoria, says a delicate spray of the hotel’s signature scent—with notes of lemon, lotus flower, and sweet fig—during final inspection creates an immediate sense of comfort.
—Colleen Sullivan, Martha Stewart, 2 May 2026
In late 2024, housekeeping supervisors Patsy and Elsy, who are referred to in the first lawsuit against Jenner as well, by their first names only, stepped into their leadership roles.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for housekeeping
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Literary Hub, 4 May 2026
But nonmedical caregiving — like meal preparation, housekeeping and personal hygiene assistance — costs on average $80,000 a year.
—Allison Aubrey, NPR, 4 May 2026
Genny Marconcini, housekeeping manager at the Grand Hotel Victoria, says a delicate spray of the hotel’s signature scent—with notes of lemon, lotus flower, and sweet fig—during final inspection creates an immediate sense of comfort.
—Colleen Sullivan, Martha Stewart, 2 May 2026
In late 2024, housekeeping supervisors Patsy and Elsy, who are referred to in the first lawsuit against Jenner as well, by their first names only, stepped into their leadership roles.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for housekeeping
Cite this Entry
“Housekeeping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/housekeeping. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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