noun , verb
■ noun
/ haʊs; NAmE / ( pl. houses / ˈhaʊzɪz; NAmE /)
BUILDING
1.
[ C ] a building for people to live in, usually for one family :
He went into the house.
a two-bedroom house
Let's have the party at my house .
house prices
What time do you leave the house in the morning (= to go to work) ?
( BrE )
We're moving house (= leaving our house and going to live in a different one) .
—see also penthouse , safe house , show house
2.
[ sing. ] all the people living in a house
SYN household :
Be quiet or you'll wake the whole house!
3.
[ C ] (in compounds) a building used for a particular purpose, for example for holding meetings in or keeping animals or goods in :
an opera house
a henhouse
—see also doghouse , dosshouse , halfway house , hothouse , lighthouse , madhouse , outhouse , storehouse , warehouse
4.
House [ sing. ] ( BrE ) used in the names of office buildings :
Their offices are on the second floor of Chester House.
COMPANY / INSTITUTION
5.
[ C ] (in compounds) a company involved in a particular kind of business; an institution of a particular kind :
a fashion / banking / publishing, etc. house
a religious house (= a convent or a monastery )
I work in house (= in the offices of the company that I work for, not at home)
—see also clearing house , in-house
RESTAURANT
6.
[ C ] (in compounds) a restaurant :
a steakhouse
a coffee house
a bottle of house wine (= the cheapest wine available in a particular restaurant, sometimes not listed by name)
—see also free house , public house , roadhouse , tied house
PARLIAMENT
7.
[ C ] (often House ) a group of people who meet to discuss and make the laws of a country :
Legislation requires approval by both houses of parliament.
—see also lower house , upper house
8.
the House [ sing. ] the House of Commons or the House of Lords in Britain; the House of Representatives in the US
IN DEBATE
9.
the house [ sing. ] a group of people discussing sth in a formal debate :
I urge the house to vote against the motion.
IN THEATRE
10.
[ C ] the part of a theatre where the audience sits; the audience at a particular performance :
playing to a full / packed / empty house (= to a large / small audience)
The spotlight faded and the house lights came up.
—see also front-of-house , full house
IN SCHOOL
11.
[ C ] (in some British schools) an organized group of students of different ages who compete against other groups in sports competitions, etc. and who may, in boarding schools , live together in one building
FAMILY
12.
[ C ] (usually the House of ... ) an old and famous family :
the House of Windsor (= the British royal family)
MUSIC
13.
[ U ] = house music
—see also acid house , art-house , open house , powerhouse
HELP NOTE : There are many other compounds ending in house . You will find them at their place in the alphabet.
•
IDIOMS
- bring the house down
- get on like a house on fire
- go all round the houses
- keep house
- on the house
- put / set your (own) house in order
- set up house
—more at clean verb , eat , people noun , safe adjective
■ verb
/ haʊz/ [ vn ]
PROVIDE HOME
1.
to provide a place for sb to live :
The government is committed to housing the refugees.
KEEP STH
2.
to be the place where sth is kept or where sth operates from :
The gallery houses 2 000 works of modern art.
The museum is housed in the Old Court House.
For more information see the Cultural Guide
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English hūs (noun), hūsian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch huis , German Haus (nouns), and Dutch huizen , German hausen (verbs).