noun
house
HOWS
noun
1
A building where people live, typically a single family.
"They bought their first house on a quiet cul-de-sac."
"The house needed a new roof before winter."
2
The people who live together in a home; a household.
"The whole house came down with the flu that week."
3
A building used for a specific business or purpose, often named for it (e.g. publishing house, opera house).
"The manuscript was rejected by every major publishing house."
4
A branch or chamber of a legislature, or the assembly itself.
"The bill passed the lower house by a narrow margin."
5
A family line, especially a royal or noble dynasty.
"The House of Windsor has ruled for over a century."
6
A genre of electronic dance music built on repetitive four-on-the-floor beats.
"The club played house all night."
verb
1
To provide shelter, storage, or living space for someone or something.
"The old warehouse now houses a modern art gallery."
"The shelter houses over a hundred rescued dogs."
How to Use House
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA building people live in, or more broadly, any structure or institution that "holds" something — a family, a business, an assembly, even a genre of music.
Common pairings
house of representatives
buy a house
house music
housed in
Word Forms
housed past tense, houses plural, housen plural, hice plural, houses singular
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They bought their first _____ on a quiet cul-de-sac.
Etymology
From Old English hūs ("dwelling, shelter"), from a Proto-Germanic root possibly meaning "to cover or hide" — related distantly to the word "hose."