housekeeping
noun
Simple meaning
The work of cleaning and running a house.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
howskeepingSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhaʊskipɪŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The work of cleaning and running a house
“We split the housekeeping so neither of us spends every weekend cleaning.”
The chores of maintaining a house as a residence, especially cleaning.
metonymic
Those workers of an establishment who maintain a house through cleaning, etc.
Any general tasks that involve preparation.
Announcements that must be made before a show or event can begin.
Hospitality; a liberal and hospitable table; a supply of provisions.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The work of cleaning and running a house
Used this way, housekeeping is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“We split the housekeeping so neither of us spends every weekend cleaning.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use housekeeping
- “Good housekeeping keeps the house clean and organized every day.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A servant who is employed to perform domestic task in a household.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- cleaningnoun
- laundrynoun
- maintenancenoun
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.