What does "house" mean?
A structure built or serving as an abode of human beings.
House
/haʊs/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A structure built or serving as an abode of human beings.
- Grammar: house is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: firm, abbey, abode, abodes.
- Useful contrasts: apartment, apartments, cabanas.
- Usage evidence: After that, I left, but then I realized that I forgot my backpack at their house.
How to use "house"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "house" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "house" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "house" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "house" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "house" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "firm" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "house", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A structure built or serving as an abode of human beings. countable, uncountable
"This is my house and my family's ancestral home."
- 2 House music. uncountable
"[…] their music is influenced as much by Roxy Music and the Ramones as it is by house and techno pioneers."
- 3 play in which children take the roles of father or mother or children and pretend to interact like adults wordnet
- 4 A structure built or serving as an abode of human beings.; An apartment building within a public housing estate. Hong-Kong, countable, uncountable
- 5 a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families wordnet
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- 6 A container; a thing which houses another. countable, uncountable
"The purposes of food are to promote growth, to supply force and heat, and to furnish material to repair the waste which is constantly taking place in the body. Every breath, every thought, every motion, wears out some portion of the delicate and wonderful house in which we live."
- 7 a building in which something is sheltered or located wordnet
- 8 Size and quality of residential accommodations; housing. uncountable
"Those homeowners who bought too much house, or borrowed against inflated values are now going to be liable for their own poor decisions."
- 9 a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented wordnet
- 10 A building intended to contain a single household, as opposed to an apartment or condominium or building containing these. countable, uncountable
- 11 aristocratic family line wordnet
- 12 The people who live in a house; a household. countable, uncountable
"one that feared God with all his house"
- 13 the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments wordnet
- 14 A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word). countable, uncountable
"The former carriage house had been made over into a guest house."
- 15 a social unit living together wordnet
- 16 A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).; A place of business; a company or organisation, especially a printing press, a publishing company, or a couturier. countable, uncountable
"A small publishing house would have a contract with an independent fulfillment house."
- 17 an official assembly having legislative powers wordnet
- 18 A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).; A place of public accommodation or entertainment, especially a public house, an inn, a restaurant, a theatre, or a casino; or the management thereof. countable, uncountable
"One more, sir, then I'll have to stop serving you – rules of the house, I'm afraid."
- 19 the audience gathered together in a theatre or cinema wordnet
- 20 A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).; A workhouse. countable, historical, uncountable
"To this the pauper replied that he did not want that, and that rather than be sent to the house he would look out for work."
- 21 the members of a religious community living together wordnet
- 22 The audience for a live theatrical or similar performance. countable, uncountable
"After her swan-song, there wasn't a dry eye in the house."
- 23 the management of a gambling house or casino wordnet
- 24 A building where a deliberative assembly meets; whence the assembly itself, particularly a component of a legislature. countable, uncountable
"The petition was so ridiculous that the house rejected it after minimal debate."
- 25 (astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided wordnet
- 26 A dynasty; a family with its ancestors and descendants, especially a royal or noble one. countable, uncountable
"A curse lay upon the House of Atreus."
- 27 A place of rest or repose. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Like a pestilence, it doth infect / The houses of the brain."
- 28 A grouping of schoolchildren for the purposes of competition in sports and other activities. countable, uncountable
"I was a member of Spenser house when I was at school."
- 29 An animal's shelter or den, or the shell of an animal such as a snail, used for protection. countable, uncountable
- 30 One of the twelve divisions of an astrological chart. countable, uncountable
"Since there was a limited number of planets, houses and signs of the zodiac, the astrologers tended to reduce human potentialities to a set of fixed types and to postulate only a limited number of possible variations."
- 31 The fourth Lenormand card. countable, uncountable
- 32 A square on a chessboard, regarded as the proper place of a piece. archaic, countable, uncountable
- 33 The four concentric circles where points are scored on the ice. countable, uncountable
- 34 Lotto; bingo. countable, uncountable
- 35 A children's game in which the players pretend to be members of a household. uncountable
"As the babysitter, Emma always acted as the mother whenever the kids demanded to play house."
- 36 A small stand of trees in a swamp. US, countable, dialectal, uncountable
- 37 A set of cells in a sudoku puzzle which must contain each digit exactly once, such as a row, column, or 3×3 box. countable, uncountable
- 38 The end zone. countable, slang, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To keep within a structure or container. transitive
"The car is housed in the garage."
- 2 provide someone with accommodation wordnet
- 3 To admit to residence; to harbor. transitive
"Palladius wished him [...] to house all the Helots."
- 4 contain or cover wordnet
- 5 To take shelter or lodging; to abide; to lodge.
"You shall not house with me."
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- 6 To dwell within one of the twelve astrological houses. transitive
"Where Saturn houses."
- 7 To contain or cover mechanical parts. transitive
- 8 To contain one part of an object for the purpose of locating the whole. transitive
"The joists were housed into the side walls, rather than being hung from them."
- 9 To drive to a shelter. obsolete
"Euen now we hous'd him in the Abbey heere"
- 10 To deposit and cover, as in the grave. obsolete
"Oh! can your counsel his despair defer , Who now is housed in his sepulchre"
- 11 To stow in a safe place; to take down and make safe.
"to house the upper spars"
- 12 To eat; especially, to scarf down. Canada, US, slang, transitive
"All you wanna do is drink a fifth, house a lasagna, and hide in a dumpster until that baby stops crying."
Proper Noun
- 1 A particular chamber of political representation; Ellipsis of House of Representatives. US, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"Prop. 50 proponents, including Newsom and Democrats in the state Legislature and in Congress, say the proposition is needed to counteract Texas’ recent redistricting efforts to give the GOP more House seats."
- 2 A particular chamber of political representation; Ellipsis of House of Commons. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
- 3 A particular chamber of political representation; Ellipsis of House of Parliament. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
- 4 A particular chamber of political representation; More generally, a shortened name for any chamber of a legislature that is named "House of...", especially where the other chamber(s) are not so named, or where there is no other chamber (unicameral). countable, uncountable
- 5 A placename:; A village in Quay County, New Mexico, United States. countable, uncountable
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- 6 A placename:; An unincorporated community in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. countable, uncountable
- 7 A topographic surname from Middle English for someone residing in a house (as opposed to a hut) or in a religious house. countable, uncountable
"The incumbent and embattled Henyard lost Tuesday’s Democratic primary to Trustee Jason House by a landslide, with House winning nearly 90% of the vote."
- 8 Christ Church, Oxford. countable, dated, uncountable
Antonyms
Example
"After that, I left, but then I realized that I forgot my backpack at their house."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "house"?
Common synonyms include: firm, abbey, abode, abodes, accommodate, accommodate.
How do you use "house" in a sentence?
After that, I left, but then I realized that I forgot my backpack at their house.
How do you pronounce "house"?
Pronounced /haʊs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH-der.? Proto-Germanic *hūsą Proto-West Germanic *hūs Old English hūs Middle English hous English house From Middle English hous, hus, from Old English hūs (“dwelling, shelter, house”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūs, from Proto-Germanic *hūsą (“house”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kews-, from *(s)kewH- (“to cover, hide”). More at hose. Eclipsed non-native Middle English mees, meson, measoun (“house”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman mes, mies, meis, maisun (“house”). The uncommon plural form housen is from Middle English husen, housen. (The Old English nominative plural was simply hūs.) Cognates Cognate with Scots hoose, oos (“house”), Yola heouse, houze, howze (“house”), North Frisian hüs (“house”), Saterland Frisian Huus, Húus (“house”), West Frisian hûs (“house”), Alemannic German hous, hus, husch, hüs, hüüsch (“house”), Bavarian, Cimbrian, Mòcheno haus (“house”), Central Franconian Haus, Hous, Huus (“home”), Dutch huis (“house”), Dutch Low Saxon hoes, huus (“house”), German Haus, Hauß (“house”), German Low German Huus (“house”), Limburgish hoes, Huus (“house”), Luxembourgish Haus (“house”), Vilamovian haojs, haus, hoüz (“house”), Yiddish הויז (hoyz, “house”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk hus (“house”), Elfdalian aus (“house”), Faroese, Icelandic hús (“house”), Swedish hus, hws (“house”), Crimean Gothic hus (“house”); also Cornish kudha (“to conceal, hide”), Welsh cuddio (“to hide”), Latin cutis (“human skin; hide, leather”), Ancient Greek κεύθω (keúthō, “to cover, hide”), Tocharian A kāc (“hide, skin”), Sanskrit स्कुनाति (skunāti, “to cover”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English housen, from Old English hūsian, from Proto-Germanic *hūsōną (“to house, live, dwell”), from the noun (see above). Compare Dutch huizen (“to live, dwell, reside”), German Low German husen (“to live, dwell, reside”), German hausen (“to live, dwell, reside”), Norwegian Nynorsk husa (“to house”), Faroese húsa (“to house”), Icelandic húsa (“to shelter, house”).
Etymology 3
Probably from The Warehouse, a nightclub in Chicago, Illinois, USA, where the music became popular around 1985.
Etymology 4
* As an English surname, from the noun house. * Also as an English surname, variant of Howes. * Also as a topographic English surname, from a derivative of Old English hyse (“place overgrown with water plants”), from hos (“bramble, thorn, sprout”). This may have also made its way into Hose, Huss. * As a German surname, calqued from the surname Haus.