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
Eco effort The hotel employs single-stream recycling and green housekeeping practices, and also has a green roof ecosystem to reduce the building’s heat load.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 May 2026
The Recalibration Is Here ByteDance’s retreat from 30% of its AI portfolio is less a corporate housekeeping exercise and more a leading indicator of where the broader industry is heading.
—Vivian Toh, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Trowe, who works in housekeeping at a hotel in Berkeley, has spent decades in the labor movement and sees a capitalist system that’s nearing its breaking point.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 18 May 2026
Per the Association Covenant, the land is currently zoned as use class A and L with allowances for residential and commercial housekeeping facilities only.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for housekeeping
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Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 May 2026
The Recalibration Is Here ByteDance’s retreat from 30% of its AI portfolio is less a corporate housekeeping exercise and more a leading indicator of where the broader industry is heading.
—Vivian Toh, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Trowe, who works in housekeeping at a hotel in Berkeley, has spent decades in the labor movement and sees a capitalist system that’s nearing its breaking point.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 18 May 2026
Per the Association Covenant, the land is currently zoned as use class A and L with allowances for residential and commercial housekeeping facilities only.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 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 24 May. 2026.
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