I. ˈhouse ˌmusic BrE AmE ( also house ) noun [uncountable]
a type of popular dance music
II. house 1 S1 W1 /haʊs/ BrE AmE noun ( plural houses /ˈhaʊzəz, ˈhaʊzɪz/)
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hus ]
1 . WHERE SOMEONE LIVES [countable]
a) a building that someone lives in, especially one that has more than one level and is intended to be used by one family:
a four-bedroom house
in a house
every room in the house
at sb’s house
We met at Alison’s house.
Why don’t you all come over to our house for coffee?
move house British English (=leave your house and go to live in another one)
b) the house all the people who live in a house SYN household :
He gets up at six and disturbs the whole house.
2 . BUILDING
a) opera/court/movie etc house a large public building used for a particular purpose
b) House British English used in the names of large buildings, especially offices:
the BBC television studios at Broadcasting House
c) hen house/coach house/storehouse etc a building used for a particular purpose
3 . GOVERNMENT [countable] a group of people who make the laws of a country:
The president will address both houses of Congress.
the House of Commons/Lords/Representatives/Assembly
the speaker of the house
⇨ ↑ Lower House , ↑ Upper House
4 . COMPANY [countable] a company, especially one involved in a particular area of business:
America’s oldest publishing house
a small independent software house
an auction house
a famous Italian fashion house
5 . THEATRE [countable]
a) the part of a theatre, cinema etc where people sit OPP backstage :
The show has been playing to full houses.
The house was half empty.
The house lights went down and the music started.
b) the people who have come to watch a performance SYN audience
full/packed/empty house (=a large or small audience)
The show has been playing to packed houses since it opened.
6 . in house if you work in house, you work at the offices of a company or organization, not at home ⇨ ↑ in-house
7 . put/set/get your (own) house in order used to say that someone should improve the way they behave before criticizing other people
8 . bring the house down to make a lot of people laugh, especially when you are acting in a theatre
9 . be on the house if drinks or meals are on the house, you do not have to pay for them because they are provided free by the owner of the bar, restaurant etc
10 . house wine ( also house red/white ) ordinary wine that is provided by a restaurant to be drunk with meals:
A glass of house red, please.
11 . get on/along like a house on fire British English informal to quickly have a very friendly relationship
12 . set up house to start to live in a house, especially with another person:
The two of them set up house in Brighton.
13 . keep house to regularly do all the cleaning, cooking etc in a house:
His daughter keeps house for him.
14 . SCHOOL [countable] British English in some schools, one of the groups that children of different ages are divided into to compete against each other, for example in sports competitions
15 . ROYAL FAMILY [countable] an important family, especially a royal family:
the House of Windsor
16 . MUSIC [uncountable] ↑ house music
17 . house of God/worship literary a church
18 . this house formal used to mean the people who are voting in a formal ↑ debate when you are stating the proposal that is being discussed ⇨ DOLL’S HOUSE , ⇨ eat somebody out of house and home at ↑ eat (10), ⇨ ↑ open house , ↑ public house , ⇨ (as) safe as houses at ↑ safe 1 (5)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ live in a house
They live in a really big house in Hampstead.
▪ buy a house
We bought this house when Liam was just a baby.
▪ rent a house
While he was working in London, Ken rented a house in Fulham.
▪ sell a house
We decided to sell the house and move back to Seattle.
▪ put your house on the market (=make it available for people to buy)
They put the house on the market and began looking for an apartment.
▪ move into/out of a house
We’re moving into our new house next week.
▪ build a house
They’re building a house on land overlooking Galway Bay.
▪ put up a house (=build a house, especially when it seems very quick)
I think they’ve ruined the village by putting up these new houses.
▪ renovate a house (=repair a house so that it is in good condition again)
He makes money by renovating old houses and selling them on.
▪ decorate a house (=put paint or wallpaper on the inside walls of a house)
If we’re going to decorate the house, let’s get professionals in.
▪ do up a house informal (=decorate it)
We’ve been doing up the house bit by bit since we first moved in.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + house
▪ a private house (=one owned by someone)
It was a residential neighborhood of private houses.
▪ a rented house (=one owned by someone who rents it to people)
She shares a rented house with three other students.
▪ a council house British English (=one owned by a local council that people can rent cheaply)
The rent rise is a blow to council house tenants.
▪ a Georgian/Victorian/Edwardian etc house (=a house in Britain that was built during the reign of a particular king or queen )
They live in a lovely old Edwardian house with high ceilings.
■ house + NOUN
▪ house prices
House prices have tripled over the last ten years.
▪ a house owner
All house owners must pay council tax.
▪ a house purchase
A solicitor can help you with the legal aspects of a house purchase.
▪ house hunting (=the activity of looking at houses that you might buy)
Have you had any success with your house hunting?
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ house a building that someone lives in, especially one that is intended for one family, person, or couple to live in:
Annie and Rick have just bought their first house.
|
The price of houses is going up all the time.
▪ detached house British English a house that is not joined to another house:
a detached four-bedroomed house
▪ semi-detached house British English a house that is joined to another house on one side
▪ terraced house British English , row house American English one of a row of houses that are joined together
▪ townhouse one of a row of houses that are joined together. In British English, townhouse is often used about a large and impressive house in a fashionable area of a city:
an 18th-century townhouse in Bath
▪ cottage a small house in the country – used especially about houses in the UK:
a little cottage in the country
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a thatched cottage (=with a roof made of straw)
▪ bungalow a small house that is all on one level:
Bungalows are suitable for many elderly people.
▪ country house a large house in the countryside, especially one that is of historical interest:
The hotel was originally an Edwardian country house.
▪ mansion a very large house:
the family’s Beverly Hills mansion
▪ mobile home ( also trailer American English ) a type of house that can be pulled by a large vehicle and moved to another place
▪ ranch house American English a long narrow house that is all on one level:
a California ranch house
▪ duplex American English a house that is divided into two separate homes
■ an apartment
▪ apartment especially American English , flat British English a set of rooms where someone lives that is part of a house or bigger building. In British English, people usually say flat . Apartment is used about large and expensive flats, or in advertisements:
His apartment is on the eighth floor.
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In London, I shared a flat with some other students.
▪ condominium ( also condo informal ) American English one apartment in a building with several apartments, owned by the people who live in them:
a 10-unit condominium complex
■ a group of houses
▪ development a group of new houses or other buildings that are all planned and built together on the same piece of land:
The site is to be used for a new housing development.
▪ estate British English an area where a large group of houses have all been built together at the same time:
She grew up on a council estate in Leeds.
III. house 2 /haʊz/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to provide someone with a place to live
house in
The refugees are being housed in temporary accommodation.
2 . if a building, place, or container houses something, it is kept there
house in
The collection is currently housed in the British Museum.
the plastic case that houses the batteries