housewife

noun

house·​wife ˈhau̇s-ˌwīf 

especially in sense 2 and in early poetry

ˈhə-zəf 

 or  -səf

plural housewives ˈhau̇s-ˌwīvz 

also

ˈhau̇z-ˌwīvz 

ˈhə-zəfs,

-zəvz,

-səfs,

-səvz

1

: a married woman in charge of a household

2

: a pocket-size container for small articles (such as thread)

housewifeliness

ˈhau̇s-ˌwīf-lē-nəs 

noun

housewifely

ˈhau̇s-ˌwīf-lē 

adjective

housewifery

ˈhau̇s-ˌwī-f(ə-)rē 

 British  -(ˌ)wi-f(ə-)rē

 also  ˈhə-zə-frē

noun

housewifey

ˈhau̇s-ˌwī-fē 

adjective

Examples of housewife in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Female Fitness of Kabul is set inside a crumbling Kabul gym, which opens to women for only a few hours each day, Afghan housewives in scarves and long dresses reclaim not just their bodies, but also their spirits, their bonds, and their sense of self. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 8 May 2025

And leading that charge is their den mother, a pampered, spoiled Beverly Hills housewife who becomes surprisingly resourceful and inspirational to the troop. —Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 8 May 2025

She was initially announced as the latest Miami housewife at Bravo Fan Fest last year. —Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025

By 1917 in Russia, housewives were marching in city streets to protest a lack of food, peasants were seizing land, and many Russians saw the czarist government as irrelevant, even treasonous. —Margaret MacMillan, The Atlantic, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for housewife

• afterlife
• pocketknife
• alewife
• birdlife
• folklife
• jackknife
• loosestrife
• midlife
• midwife
• nightlife
• penknife
• wildlife

Kids Definition

housewife

noun

house·​wife ˈhau̇-ˌswīf 

sense 2 is often

ˈhəz-əf 

ˈhəs-əf

1

: a married woman who manages her own home

2

: a small container for small articles (as thread)

housewifeliness

ˈhau̇-ˌswī-flē-nəs 

noun

housewifely

-flē 

adjective

housewifery

ˈhau̇-ˌswī-fə-rē 

-frē

noun