housekeeping

noun

house·​keep·​ing ˈhau̇s-ˌkē-piŋ How to pronounce housekeeping (audio)
1
a
: the management of a house and home affairs
… coming home to husbands who won't share in the housekeepingThe 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Take inventory of your life and do some internal and external housekeeping. Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 17 Oct. 2025 Check-in and Check-out Times and Procedures Many hotels extend the opportunity for early check-in and late check-out when their housekeeping calendar aligns. Karla Walsh, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025 Bluff Point Golf Resort has responded by cutting hours and staff among its housekeeping crew. Matt Egan, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2025 The hotel brought in a subcontracting agency, MevRam, to run housekeeping. Katie Campione, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for housekeeping

Word History

First Known Use

1529, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of housekeeping was in 1529

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Cite this Entry

“Housekeeping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/housekeeping. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

housekeeping

noun
house·​keep·​ing
ˈhau̇-ˌskē-piŋ
: the care and management of a house and home affairs

More from Merriam-Webster on housekeeping

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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