housekeeping

Name: housekeeping, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“housekeeping” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,240. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,240
frequency rank, English: 2,646
“H” headwords: 17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The chores of maintaining a house as a residence, especially cleaning.

Corpus desk

Index EN-housekeeping · housekeeping · English

housekeeping · rank #21,240 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #21,240
LEN-MEGA 12 letters
VOW-6 6 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 17 variants
BOOK-MID 2,646
PHOTO-FINISH Hobbs

Nearest frequency peer: Hobbs (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

hem

78,765
hitman

78,764
Hobbs

78,762
housekeeping

78,761
hua

78,760
ifs

78,759

What this shows “housekeeping” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Key facts for housekeeping
Property	Value
Headword	housekeeping
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
Letters	12
Frequency rank	#21,240
Misspellings tracked	17
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “housekeeping”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).housekeepinglands here:

#21,240

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Hobbs” (#21,239), “hua” (#21,241), “ifs” (#21,242). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “housekeeping” is #21,240. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around housekeeping, anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,240 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for housekeeping, with forms such as "hhousekeeping", "hosuekeeping", and "houeskeeping". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From house + keeping. The correct English form is housekeeping, spelled H-O-U-S-E-K-E-E-P-I-N-G.

Definition

1
The chores of maintaining a house as a residence, especially cleaning.
2
The chores of maintaining a house as a residence, especially cleaning.
3
Any general tasks that involve preparation.
4
Announcements that must be made before a show or event can begin.
5
Hospitality; a liberal and hospitable table; a supply of provisions.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how housekeeping appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

Those who with us would have their own little housekeepings and cooking, have not the means, nor perhaps the taste, for such domestic comfort, and take their victuals at the trattoria, or cook-shop.
The computer program does some general housekeeping involving initializing variables and opening files before beginning the main processing.

Etymology

From house + keeping.

This word in other languages

ménage(Français)Hausarbeit(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

hhousekeeping
hosuekeeping
houeskeeping
houseekeping
housekeeipng
housekeepign
housekeepingg
housekeepinng
housekeepnig
housekeepping
housekepeing
housekeping
housekkeeping
houskeeeping
houssekeeping
huosekeeping
ohusekeeping

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of housekeeping - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "housekeeping"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "housekeeping"?

"housekeeping" is spelled H-O-U-S-E-K-E-E-P-I-N-G.

What does "housekeeping" mean?

As a noun, "housekeeping" means: The chores of maintaining a house as a residence, especially cleaning.

What are common misspellings of "housekeeping"?

Common misspellings include "hhousekeeping", "hosuekeeping", "houeskeeping", "houseekeping", "housekeeipng". The correct spelling is "housekeeping".

What is the origin of the word "housekeeping"?

From house + keeping. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "housekeeping", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

infiltration#21,245 fluorescence#21,213 malnutrition#21,268 prerequisite#21,320

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

patriarchal17 variants commemorative17 variants confederacy17 variants manipulative17 variants