housekeeping
noun
housekeeping is spelled H-O-U-S-E-K-E-E-P-I-N-G: 12 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, housekeeping means “The chores of maintaining a house as a residence, especially cleaning” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of housekeeping is housekeepings.
How many letters and syllables are in housekeeping?
| Letters | 12: H-O-U-S-E-K-E-E-P-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is housekeeping?
Housekeeping appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce housekeeping?
Housekeeping has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of housekeeping
- housekeepings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does housekeeping mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The chores of maintaining a house as a residence, especially cleaning.
- 2
Those workers of an establishment who maintain a house through cleaning, etc.
- 3
Any general tasks that involve preparation.
The computer program does some general housekeeping involving initializing variables and opening files before beginning the main processing.
- 4
Announcements that must be made before a show or event can begin.
Thank you all for coming! Just some quick housekeeping before we get underway, the emergency exits are to your left...
- 5
Hospitality; a liberal and hospitable table; a supply of provisions.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Housekeeping in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense chores of maintaining a house as a residence:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ménage |
| German | Haushaltung, Hausarbeit, Haushalt |
| Spanish | tareas domésticas |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does housekeeping come from?
From house + keeping.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).