Definitions for househaʊs; haʊz; ˈhaʊ zɪz

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

house^*haʊs; haʊz; ˈhaʊ zɪz(n., adj.; v.; n.; adj.)(pl.)hous•es; housed, hous•ing

(n.)a building in which people live; residence.
a household.
(often cap.) a family, including ancestors and descendants:
the House of Hapsburg.
a building, enclosure, or other construction for any of various purposes (usu. used in combination):
a clubhouse; a doghouse.
a theater, concert hall, or auditorium.
Category: Showbiz
the audience of a theater or the like.
Category: Showbiz
(often cap.) a legislative or official deliberative body, esp. one branch of a bicameral legislature: the building in which such a body meets. a quorum of such a body.
the House of Representatives.
Category: Government
(often cap.) a commercial establishment; business firm:
a publishing house.
Category: Business
a gambling casino or its management.
Category: Games
a residential hall in a college or school; dormitory.
Category: Education
the members or residents of any such residential hall.
Category: Education
Informal. a brothel; whorehouse.
Category: Informal
Category: Games, Sport
Ref: Also called parish. 5
Naut. any enclosed shelter above the weather deck of a vessel:
bridge house.
Category: Nautical, Navy
Astrol. one of the 12 divisions of the celestial sphere, numbered counterclockwise from the point of the E horizon.
Category: Astrology
Ref: house music .
(v.t.)to put or receive into a house, dwelling, or shelter; lodge or harbor:
to house students in a dormitory; to house flood victims in a church.
to provide with a place, as to work or study:
This floor houses our executive staff.
to be a receptacle or repository for; hold; contain:
This casing houses the batteries.
(v.i.)to take shelter; dwell.
(adj.)of or noting a house.
suitable for or customarily used or kept in a house:
house paint; house pets.
(of a product) made by or for a specific retailer and often sold under the store's own label.
Category: Business
served by a restaurant as its customary brand:
the house wine.
Category: Cooking

Idioms for house:

bring down the house,to inspire a live audience to break into prolonged, unrestrained laughter or applause over one's performance.
Category: Idiom
keep house,to maintain a home; manage a household.
Category: Idiom
on the house,as a gift from the management; free.
Category: Idiom

^* Syn: house , home , residence , dwelling are terms applied to a place in which people live. house is generally applied to a structure built for one or two families or social units: a ranch house in the suburbs. home may be used of an apartment or a private house; it retains connotations of domestic comfort and family ties: Their home is full of charm and character. residence is characteristic of formal usage and often implies spaciousness and elegance: the private residence of the prime minister. dwelling is a general and neutral word (a houseboat is a floating dwelling) and therefore commonly used in legal, scientific, and other technical contexts, as in a lease or in the phrases multiple dwelling, single-family dwelling.

Origin of house:

bef. 900; ME h(o)us, OE hūs, c. OFris, OS, OHG, ON hūs, Go -hus (in gudhus temple)

Princeton's WordNet

house(noun)
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
"he has a house on Cape Cod"; "she felt she had to get out of the house"
firm, house, business firm(noun)
the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments
"he worked for a brokerage house"
house(noun)
the members of a religious community living together
house(noun)
the audience gathered together in a theatre or cinema
"the house applauded"; "he counted the house"
house(noun)
an official assembly having legislative powers
"a bicameral legislature has two houses"
house(noun)
aristocratic family line
"the House of York"
house(noun)
play in which children take the roles of father or mother or children and pretend to interact like adults
"the children were playing house"
sign of the zodiac, star sign, sign, mansion, house, planetary house(noun)
(astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided
house(noun)
the management of a gambling house or casino
"the house gets a percentage of every bet"
family, household, house, home, menage(noun)
a social unit living together
"he moved his family to Virginia"; "It was a good Christian household"; "I waited until the whole house was asleep"; "the teacher asked how many people made up his home"
theater, theatre, house(noun)
a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented
"the house was full"
house(verb)
a building in which something is sheltered or located
"they had a large carriage house"
house(verb)
contain or cover
"This box houses the gears"
house, put up, domiciliate(verb)
provide housing for
"The immigrants were housed in a new development outside the town"

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

house(noun)ʊs; v. haʊz
a building where a family lives
Come over to my house.; a three-bedroom house
houseʊs; v. haʊz
a group of people who make a country's laws
the British Houses of Parliament; the U.S. House of Representatives
houseʊs; v. haʊz
given for free
Your next drink is on the house.
houseʊs; v. haʊz
the area in a theater where the audience sits
The show opened to a packed house.
house(verb)ʊs; v. haʊz
***to provide a home
new apartments to house the poor
houseʊs; v. haʊz
***to act as storage
the file that houses data for the project

Wiktionary

house(Noun)
A structure serving as an abode of human beings.
This is my house and my family's ancestral home.
house(Noun)
The mode of living as if in a house.
They set up house in a posh apartment.
house(Noun)
The usual place to find an object or an animal.
The photo was put in its little house.
house(Noun)
A structure to protect or store something or someone.
The former carriage house had been made over into a guest house.
house(Noun)
A protective structure on the deck of a ship.
A pilot took charge of the wheel house until the ship was moored.
house(Noun)
A theatre building, or the audience for a live theatrical or similar performance.
house(Noun)
A deliberative assembly forming a component of a legislature, or, more rarely, the room or building in which such an assembly normally meets.
house(Noun)
An establishment, whether actual, as a pub, or virtual, as a website.
house(Noun)
A company or organisation.
A small publishing house would have a contract with an independent fulfillment house.
house(Verb)
To keep within a structure or container.
The car is housed in the garage.
house(Verb)
To admit to residence; to harbor/harbour.
house(Verb)
To dwell within one of the twelve astrological houses.
house(Verb)
To contain or cover mechanical parts.
house(Noun)
A dynasty, a familial descendance, for example, a royal House.
The current Queen is from the House of Windsor.
house(Noun)
One of the twelve divisions of an astrological chart.
house(Noun)
A grouping of schoolchildren for the purposes of competition in sports and other activities.
I was a member of Spenser house when I was at school.
house(Noun)
House music.
house(Noun)
The three concentric circles where points are scored on the ice
house(Noun)
An early or alternative name for the game bingo.
house(Noun)
A complete set of numbers in bingo.
house(Noun)
An aggregate of characteristics of a house.
house(Noun)
A children's game in which the players pretend to be members of a household.
As the babysitter, Emma always acted as the mother whenever the kids demanded to play house.
House(ProperNoun)
The House of Representatives, "the House".
House(ProperNoun)
More generally, a shortened name for any chamber of a legislature that is named "House of...", especially where the other chamber(s) are not so named (as in Australia or Canada), or where there is no other chamber (as in New Zealand).
House(ProperNoun)
for someone residing in a house (as opposed to a hut) or in a religious house.

Origin: From hous, hus, from hus, from hūsan (compare huis, Huus, Haus), possibly from (s)keus-, from *(s)keu- 'to hide'. More at hose.

Webster Dictionary

House(noun)
a structure intended or used as a habitation or shelter for animals of any kind; but especially, a building or edifice for the habitation of man; a dwelling place, a mansion
House(noun)
household affairs; domestic concerns; particularly in the phrase to keep house. See below
House(noun)
those who dwell in the same house; a household
House(noun)
a family of ancestors, descendants, and kindred; a race of persons from the same stock; a tribe; especially, a noble family or an illustrious race; as, the house of Austria; the house of Hanover; the house of Israel
House(noun)
one of the estates of a kingdom or other government assembled in parliament or legislature; a body of men united in a legislative capacity; as, the House of Lords; the House of Commons; the House of Representatives; also, a quorum of such a body. See Congress, and Parliament
House(noun)
a firm, or commercial establishment
House(noun)
a public house; an inn; a hotel
House(noun)
a twelfth part of the heavens, as divided by six circles intersecting at the north and south points of the horizon, used by astrologers in noting the positions of the heavenly bodies, and casting horoscopes or nativities. The houses were regarded as fixed in respect to the horizon, and numbered from the one at the eastern horizon, called the ascendant, first house, or house of life, downward, or in the direction of the earth's revolution, the stars and planets passing through them in the reverse order every twenty-four hours
House(noun)
a square on a chessboard, regarded as the proper place of a piece
House(noun)
an audience; an assembly of hearers, as at a lecture, a theater, etc.; as, a thin or a full house
House(noun)
the body, as the habitation of the soul
House(noun)
the grave
House(verb)
to take or put into a house; to shelter under a roof; to cover from the inclemencies of the weather; to protect by covering; as, to house one's family in a comfortable home; to house farming utensils; to house cattle
House(verb)
to drive to a shelter
House(verb)
to admit to residence; to harbor
House(verb)
to deposit and cover, as in the grave
House(verb)
to stow in a safe place; to take down and make safe; as, to house the upper spars
House(verb)
to take shelter or lodging; to abide to dwell; to lodge
House(verb)
to have a position in one of the houses. See House, n., 8

The Roycroft Dictionary

house
1. A building with four walls and a roof. 2. A rendezvous for burglars. 3. A dormitory for servants. 4. The Mecca of bedbugs. (The difference between a house and a home is this: A house may fall down, but a home is broken up.)