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 first defense against insect infestation is good housekeeping (regular vacuuming) to remove eggs and larvae from the fabrics.

—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

The next competitive divide will be determined by whether organizations treat content governance as administrative housekeeping or as core business infrastructure. — Gary Drenik, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Gen might have gotten away scot-free from the sheets incident in terms of optics — no one questions her involvement, even though her job description includes housekeeping — but karma hounds her during the first day of the charter. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 21 July 2026

Besides toothsome on-site restaurants, stylish furniture, and ultra-cozy beds, an upscale hotel’s biggest draw is arguably daily housekeeping service. — Joey Skladany, Travel + Leisure, 18 July 2026

Moving on to the housekeeping items, the organizer informs us of the presence of a documentary film crew on the grounds. — Nick H. Penniman, Rolling Stone, 15 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1529, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing housekeeping

• light housekeeping
• set up housekeeping

Rhymes for housekeeping

• recordkeeping
• beekeeping
• bookkeeping
• gatekeeping
• peacekeeping
• safekeeping
• timekeeping
• beeping
• creeping
• heaping
• keeping
• leaping

Kids Definition

housekeeping

noun

house·​keep·​ing

ˈhau̇-ˌskē-piŋ

: the care and management of a house and home affairs