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
Those subtle cues usually reveal whether housekeeping is thorough or simply surface-level.
—
Molly Burford,
Southern Living,
1 July 2026
The hotel will rely on robots to handle all major services, including reception, room service, housekeeping, food preparation, and guest assistance.
—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
29 June 2026
The cancellation came one day before the establishment's housekeeping staff found over $16,000 in damage to his hotel room.
—
Jack Irvin,
PEOPLE,
25 June 2026
Room assignments and housekeeping blocks are often finalized hours before check-in, so a request made the night before tends to have far better odds than one made at the counter.
—
Iona Brannon,
Travel + Leisure,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for housekeeping
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Molly Burford,
Southern Living,
1 July 2026
The hotel will rely on robots to handle all major services, including reception, room service, housekeeping, food preparation, and guest assistance.
—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
29 June 2026
The cancellation came one day before the establishment's housekeeping staff found over $16,000 in damage to his hotel room.
—
Jack Irvin,
PEOPLE,
25 June 2026
Room assignments and housekeeping blocks are often finalized hours before check-in, so a request made the night before tends to have far better odds than one made at the counter.
—
Iona Brannon,
Travel + Leisure,
25 June 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 4 Jul. 2026.
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