/hot"hows'/ , n. , pl. hothouses /-how'ziz/ , adj.
n.
1. an artificially heated greenhouse for the cultivation of tender plants.
adj.
2. of, pertaining to, or noting a plant grown in a hothouse, or so fragile as to be capable of being grown only in a hothouse.
3. overprotected, artificial, or unnaturally delicate.
[ 1505-15; HOT + HOUSE ]