26984 words

households

30 definitions • 45 examples
1
a building that people, usually one family, live in:

Examples:

a detached/semi-detached house
to buy/rent a house
house prices
She lives in a little house in (US on) Cross Street.
2
all the people living in a house:

Examples:

the whole house Try not to wake the whole house when you come in!
3
a building where animals are kept:

Examples:

the monkey/lion house at the zoo
a hen house
4
a building or part of a building that is used for a special purpose:

Examples:

the Sydney Opera House
Broadcasting House
5
a company that is involved in a particular area of business:

Examples:

a publishing house
a fashion house
6

Examples:

Roast chicken is a speciality of the house.
a waffle/steak/sushi house
UK a curry house (= a South Asian restaurant)
7
used before another noun to refer to something that is always or often served in a particular restaurant and is good there, such as a wine that is reasonably priced or a dish that is especially good:

Examples:

house wine To keep costs down, ask for "vino de la casa", or house wine.
house white I'll have a glass of the house white, please.
house red We split a carafe of house red.
Our house cocktail is an Indian twist on the classic gin and tonic.
The pies are a house speciality.
8
a hospital; used especially before another noun to refer to doctors working in a hospital who are still training:

Examples:

house staff House staff includes residents, interns, and medical students, who are at various stages of training and who are supervised by the attending physician.
A house officer is a resident physician of a hospital (the "house") who is receiving further training.
9

Examples:

House music first appeared in the late 1980s.
10
any of a small number of groups that the children in a school are put in for sports and other competitions:

Examples:

an inter-house hockey match
11
an important family, especially a royal one:

Examples:

The British Royal Family belong to the House of Windsor.
12
an organization that makes laws, or its meeting place
13
the members of the organization that makes laws:

Examples:

The House began debating the proposal at 3 p.m.
14
the group of people who suggest a subject for a debate:

Examples:

The motion for tonight's debate is, "This house believes that capital punishment should be abolished."
15
the people watching a performance, especially in a theatre:

Examples:

full house The opera played to a full house.
packed house Everyone in the packed house rose to their feet and applauded.
16
to give a person or animal a place to live, or to provide space for something:

Examples:

It will be difficult to house all the refugees.
17
a building in which people, usually one family, live:

Examples:

to buy/rent a house
a brick/clapboard house
my/your/grandma’s house
18
A house can also be a building where animals are kept:

Examples:

a dog house
19
A house (also (also household)) can also be all the people living in a house:

Examples:

Try not to wake the whole house when you come in!
20

Examples:

21
A house can also be a building or part of a building which is used by an organization:

Examples:

the Metropolitan Opera House
22
an organization that makes laws, or its meeting place
23
infml The House is the US house of representatives.
24
the seats in a theater, or the people watching a performance:

Examples:

The opera played to a full/empty house.
25
to give a person a place to live:

Examples:

Homeless families have been housed in motels.
The building houses the library (= gives it space).
26
a company that is involved in a particular type of business:

Examples:

27
used in the names of office or company buildings:

Examples:

28
a restaurant or café:

Examples:

a coffee/tea house
29
used to describe work that is done by a company's paid employees:

Examples:

He'll keep the work in house, and get it done more cost-effectively than by using a sub-contractor.
30
used to describe something, usually a meal or a drink, that is free:

Examples:

The manager sent over a tray of drinks on the house.

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