# household

Pronunciation: say "HOWS-hohld" US /ˈhaʊshoʊld/, UK /ˈhaʊshəʊld/

## Noun

1. All the people who live together in one house, counted as a single group: including family members and any servants or attendants.
   - Simple: All the people who live together in one home.
   - _The entire household gathered in the dining room for the announcement._
   - _In wealthy Victorian homes, the household might include a cook, a maid, and a butler._
3. A group of people living together that the law or local custom treats as a single unit.
   - Simple: A group of people who live together and count as one unit.
   - _Survey forms ask one adult to answer on behalf of the whole household._
   - _Tax rules often depend on the number of earners in a household._
4. The full range of work and management needed to keep a home running.
   - Simple: All the work and planning needed to keep a home running.
   - _Managing the household (meals, cleaning, laundry, and finances) became a full-time job._
   - _She ran the entire household alone while her husband was deployed overseas._

## Adjective

2. Found in the home, or having its origin in domestic life.
   - Simple: Used or found in the home.
   - _Most household accidents happen in the kitchen._
   - _Bleach and ammonia are typical household chemicals that should never be mixed._
5. Known to the public at large; familiar to almost everyone.
   - Simple: Known by almost everyone and easy to recognize.
   - _Within a year, the startup's logo had become a household name._
   - _Few scientists ever become household names, but she did._
6. Belonging to a single house and the family that lives in it.
   - Simple: Belonging to the same home and family.
   - _Roman families kept household deities believed to protect everyone under one roof._
   - _The will divided the estate among the household members descended from the founder._

## Noun

7. A line of ancestry; a family or noble house traced through generations. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A family line passed down over many years.
   - _The chronicle traced the household back to a warrior who founded the dynasty._
   - _Two rival households claimed descent from the same legendary king._

## Origin

From Middle English houshold, formed from house + hold. It is related to Dutch huishouden, German Haushalt, and Swedish hushåll, all meaning "household."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/household (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).