1
: an open shed or shelter
2
religion
: tabernacle
3
: a small, wretched, and often dirty house : hut
Synonyms
Examples of hovel in a Sentence
refugees living in crowded hovels
Recent Examples on the Web
Well nuclear is back, because AI needs it, not because peasants risk freezing in their hovels.
—
Clem Chambers, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
Many rising comedians live in hovels, but not Zarna Garg, who recently opened for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on their national comedy tour.
—Sheila Yasmin Marikar, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
Moon’s family embodies the dislocation: He was born in a hovel on Geoje Island, off Korea’s southeast coast, three years after his mother fled the North on a U.S. cargo ship with 14,000 other refugees as part of the Hungnam evacuation.
—Victor Gaetan, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2017
In the aftermath of her death, Arthur is living an itinerant existence in a shack near Flora’s estate; both his hovel and her grand but desolate home are tombs of their own, waiting to be plundered thousands of years in the future by some other brave troupe.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hovel 
Clem Chambers, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
Many rising comedians live in hovels, but not Zarna Garg, who recently opened for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on their national comedy tour.
—Sheila Yasmin Marikar, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
Moon’s family embodies the dislocation: He was born in a hovel on Geoje Island, off Korea’s southeast coast, three years after his mother fled the North on a U.S. cargo ship with 14,000 other refugees as part of the Hungnam evacuation.
—Victor Gaetan, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2017
In the aftermath of her death, Arthur is living an itinerant existence in a shack near Flora’s estate; both his hovel and her grand but desolate home are tombs of their own, waiting to be plundered thousands of years in the future by some other brave troupe.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hovel
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hovel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hovel
Cite this Entry
“Hovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hovel. Accessed 1 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share