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
But this new caterpillar has perhaps the most gruesome method of fashioning a case yet discovered, a bizarre housekeeping regime not reported in any other insect.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
My 23 year old Bunny comes with me everywhere, and housekeeping wrote me this.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2025
The afternoon’s proceeding wrapped in a little less than an hour and, aside from the not-guilty plea, was largely confined to housekeeping matters.
—Britina Cheng, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025
Over time, Disney has done some housekeeping, between regathering the franchises sold to other film studios and folding their Marvel Television unit into Marvel Studios proper.
—Nola Pfau, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for housekeeping
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Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
My 23 year old Bunny comes with me everywhere, and housekeeping wrote me this.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2025
The afternoon’s proceeding wrapped in a little less than an hour and, aside from the not-guilty plea, was largely confined to housekeeping matters.
—Britina Cheng, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025
Over time, Disney has done some housekeeping, between regathering the franchises sold to other film studios and folding their Marvel Television unit into Marvel Studios proper.
—Nola Pfau, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for housekeeping
Cite this Entry
“Housekeeping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/housekeeping. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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