often attributive
1
: a building that serves as living quarters for one or a few families : home
invited them to her house for dinner
a two-family house
2
3
a
astrology
: one of the 12 equal sectors (see sector entry 1 sense 1a) in which the celestial sphere is divided
b
astrology
: a sign of the zodiac that is the seat of a planet's greatest influence
the house occupied by Jupiter
4
a
: household
woke up the whole house
b
: a family including ancestors, descendants, and kindred
the house of Tudor
5
a
: a residence for a religious community or for students
a fraternity house
b
: the community or students living in such a residence
6
a
government
: a legislative, deliberative, or consultative assembly
especially
: one constituting a division of a bicameral body
a bill approved by both houses of Congress
—often used in capitalized form as the shortened name of a specific house The bill passed in both the House and the Senate.
MPs have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Government's Brexit Bill in the House of Commons. … The House voted in favour of the bill by 498 to 114 … —
Chloe Chaplain
Chloe Chaplain
b
: the building or chamber where such an assembly meets
c
: a quorum of such an assembly
7
a
: a place of business or entertainment
a movie house
the local fish house
a house of prostitution
Save room for a soufflé, the century-long house specialty …—Thomas P. Farley
Thomas P. Farleya house cocktail [=a cocktail whose recipe was created by the bar, restaurant, etc. at which it is served]
b(1)
: a business organization
a publishing house
(2)
: a gambling establishment
c
: the audience in a theater or concert hall
a full house on opening night
8
curling
: the circular area 12 feet in diameter surrounding the tee and within which a curling stone must rest in order to count
9
[from The Warehouse, Chicago dance club that pioneered the style]
: a type of dance music mixed by a disc jockey that features overdubbing with a heavy repetitive drumbeat and repeated electronic melody lines
housed; housing
1
a
: to provide with living quarters or shelter
a place to house their guests
b
: to store in a building
the barn where they house their boat
2
: to encase, enclose, or shelter as if by putting in a house (see house entry 1)
so timorous a soul housed in so impressive a body—A. W. Long
A. W. Long3
: to serve as a shelter or container for : contain
buildings that house government offices
: to take shelter : lodge
Synonyms
Examples of house in a Sentence
Noun
Would you like to come to my house for dinner?
I spent the weekend just puttering around the house.
He made enough noise to wake the whole house.
Verb
More prisons are needed to house the growing number of inmates.
The museum houses an impressive collection of jewels.
The carpenter built casing to house the hot water pipes.
Recent Examples on the WebJoyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
There can be houses flying away just a mile away and trees being uprooted in the other direction.
—Jordan Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 15 Apr. 2024
On the outside, the Miami Lakes church looks like any other house of God, perhaps plainer than most.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024
Rachel went to a friend’s house in Wheat Ridge on the morning of May 3 and laid down on the floor, according to a coroner’s autopsy report.
—Meg Wingerter, The Denver Post, 14 Apr. 2024
The house was a Polish flat, which have narrow, steep and winding stairwells.
—Journal Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2024
During the interview, the pair cited distance as a problem, with Turner living at his lake house in Indiana while Nist was based out of New Jersey.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2024
After being spurned by networks large and small, the U.F.C. leadership devised a last-ditch plan to become profitable: a reality TV show in which 16 athletes would live together in a Las Vegas house, training and fighting one another with a six-figure contract on the line.
—Emmanuel Morgan, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
When a political party is dissolved, its sitting lawmakers may join a new party within 30 days to keep their seats in the lower house.
—TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
That’s impressive considering major theater chains that house its screens saw their sales fall 24% from pre-pandemic times.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center This Marriott property in Kissimmee that's famous for its annual holiday events, incredible gardens, and animal habitats housed inside a 4.5-acre glass atrium also delivers big on water park fun.
—Terry Ward, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2024
Several aquariums and labs partnering with NOAA will house and rehabilitate sawfish, including Mote Marine Laboratory.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2024
In 2020, researchers discovered that the original Bray School was housed on the campus of the College Of William & Mary and the restoration work began.
—Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 28 Mar. 2024
After that debt is repaid a second grant of up to $7.9 million would be provided for potentially 790 more workers housed in an addition.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2024
The Innovation Factory will house dance and performance spaces, podcasting and video and music production studios, a culinary arts kitchen and classrooms for training in careers both on and behind the stage.
—Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 28 Mar. 2024
The mitochondrial DNA from the hair showed significant genetic similarities to that of a Javan tiger specimen housed in the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, dating back to 1930, more so than to any other tiger subspecies.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
Wandering in the cellar of the unfamiliar house, unable for some frantic minutes to find the stairway leading up, the wife had begun to have difficulty breathing.
—Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
There can be houses flying away just a mile away and trees being uprooted in the other direction.
—Jordan Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 15 Apr. 2024
On the outside, the Miami Lakes church looks like any other house of God, perhaps plainer than most.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024
Rachel went to a friend’s house in Wheat Ridge on the morning of May 3 and laid down on the floor, according to a coroner’s autopsy report.
—Meg Wingerter, The Denver Post, 14 Apr. 2024
The house was a Polish flat, which have narrow, steep and winding stairwells.
—Journal Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2024
During the interview, the pair cited distance as a problem, with Turner living at his lake house in Indiana while Nist was based out of New Jersey.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2024
After being spurned by networks large and small, the U.F.C. leadership devised a last-ditch plan to become profitable: a reality TV show in which 16 athletes would live together in a Las Vegas house, training and fighting one another with a six-figure contract on the line.
—Emmanuel Morgan, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
When a political party is dissolved, its sitting lawmakers may join a new party within 30 days to keep their seats in the lower house.
—TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
Verb
After decades of disrepair, a new museum was born
The brick building that currently houses the museum opened in 1900.
—Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
That’s impressive considering major theater chains that house its screens saw their sales fall 24% from pre-pandemic times.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center This Marriott property in Kissimmee that's famous for its annual holiday events, incredible gardens, and animal habitats housed inside a 4.5-acre glass atrium also delivers big on water park fun.
—Terry Ward, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2024
Several aquariums and labs partnering with NOAA will house and rehabilitate sawfish, including Mote Marine Laboratory.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2024
In 2020, researchers discovered that the original Bray School was housed on the campus of the College Of William & Mary and the restoration work began.
—Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 28 Mar. 2024
After that debt is repaid a second grant of up to $7.9 million would be provided for potentially 790 more workers housed in an addition.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2024
The Innovation Factory will house dance and performance spaces, podcasting and video and music production studios, a culinary arts kitchen and classrooms for training in careers both on and behind the stage.
—Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 28 Mar. 2024
The mitochondrial DNA from the hair showed significant genetic similarities to that of a Javan tiger specimen housed in the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, dating back to 1930, more so than to any other tiger subspecies.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'house.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near house
Cite this Entry
“House.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/house. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
house
1 of 2 noun
plural houses
ˈhau̇-zəz 
1
: a building in which one or more families live
2
a
: something (as a nest or den) used by an animal for shelter
b
: a building in which something is stored
carriage house
3
a
: one of the 12 equal sections into which the celestial sphere is divided in astrology
b
: a sign of the zodiac that is the seat of a planet's greatest influence
4
b
: family sense 2
especially
: a royal or noble family
5
: a residence for a religious community or for students
6
: a body of persons assembled to make and discuss laws
7
a
: a place of business or entertainment
went to a movie house
b
: a business firm
a publishing house
c
: the audience in a theater or concert hall
played to a full house
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