I. -ˌhau̇s noun
Date: 1511
1. obsolete : bordello
2. : a greenhouse maintained at a high temperature especially for the culture of tropical plants
3. : hotbed 2
II. adjective
Date: 1838
1. : grown in a hothouse
2. : suggestive of growth and development in a hothouse
a hothouse existence
also : suggesting a hothouse
a hothouse atmosphere