# house

> English word · Noun · IPA /haʊs/ · frequency rank #186

## Definitions
1. A structure built or serving as an abode of human beings.
2. A structure built or serving as an abode of human beings.
3. A container; a thing which houses another.
4. Size and quality of residential accommodations; housing.
5. A building intended to contain a single household, as opposed to an apartment or condominium or building containing these.
6. The people who live in a house; a household.
7. A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).
8. A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).
9. A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).
10. A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).
11. The audience for a live theatrical or similar performance.
12. A building where a deliberative assembly meets; whence the assembly itself, particularly a component of a legislature.
13. A dynasty; a family with its ancestors and descendants, especially a royal or noble one.
14. A place of rest or repose.
15. A grouping of schoolchildren for the purposes of competition in sports and other activities.
16. An animal's shelter or den, or the shell of an animal such as a snail, used for protection.
17. One of the twelve divisions of an astrological chart.
18. The fourth Lenormand card.
19. A square on a chessboard, regarded as the proper place of a piece.
20. The four concentric circles where points are scored on the ice.
21. Lotto; bingo.
22. A children's game in which the players pretend to be members of a household.
23. A small stand of trees in a swamp.
24. A set of cells in a sudoku puzzle which must contain each digit exactly once, such as a row, column, or 3×3 box.
25. The end zone.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH-der.?
Proto-Germanic *hūsą
Proto-West Germanic *hūs
Old English hūs
Middle English hous
English house
From Middle English hous, hus, from Old English hūs (“dwelling, shelter, house”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūs, from Proto-Germanic *hūsą (“house”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kews-, from *(s)kewH- (“to cover, hide”). More at hose.
Eclipsed non-native Middle English mees, meson, measoun (“house”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman mes, mies, meis, maisun (“house”). The uncommon plural form housen is from Middle English husen, housen. (The Old English nominative plural was simply hūs.)
Cognates
Cognate with Scots hoose, oos (“house”), Yola heouse, houze, howze (“house”), North Frisian hüs (“house”), Saterland Frisian Huus, Húus (“house”), West Frisian hûs (“house”), Alemannic German hous, hus, husch, hüs, hüüsch (“house”), Bavarian, Cimbrian, Mòcheno haus (“house”), Central Franconian Haus, Hous, Huus (“home”), Dutch huis (“house”), Dutch Low Saxon hoes, huus (“house”), German Haus, Hauß (“house”), German Low German Huus (“house”), Limburgish hoes, Huus (“house”), Luxembourgish Haus (“house”), Vilamovian haojs, haus, hoüz (“house”), Yiddish הויז (hoyz, “house”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk hus (“house”), Elfdalian aus (“house”), Faroese, Icelandic hús (“house”), Swedish hus, hws (“house”), Crimean Gothic hus (“house”); also Cornish kudha (“to conceal, hide”), Welsh cuddio (“to hide”), Latin cutis (“human skin; hide, leather”), Ancient Greek κεύθω (keúthō, “to cover, hide”), Tocharian A kāc (“hide, skin”), Sanskrit स्कुनाति (skunāti, “to cover”).

## Easily confused with
- **hue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-hue)
- **hse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-hse)
- **Hus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-hus)
- **huge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-huge)
- **Howe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-howe)
- **hush** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-hush)
- **Hume** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-hume)
- **hove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-hove)
- **husk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-husk)
- **hows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-hows)
- **Howie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-howie)
- **Hoyle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-hoyle)
- **houses** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-houses)
- **housed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/house-vs-housed)
- **hoe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hoe-vs-house)
- **Hou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hou-vs-house)
- **hos** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hos-vs-house)
- **home** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/home-vs-house)
- **hope** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hope-vs-house)
- **hour** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hour-vs-house)

## Common misspellings (6)
`hhouse`, `hosue`, `houes`, `housse`, `huose`, `ohuse`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/house