hot·house
ˈhät-ˌhau̇s 
1
: a greenhouse maintained at a high temperature especially for the culture of tropical plants
2
3
obsolete
: brothel
1
: grown in a hothouse
2
: suggestive of growth and development in a hothouse
a hothouse existence
also
: suggesting a hothouse
a hothouse atmosphere
Synonyms
Examples of hothouse in a Sentence
Noun
grows tomatoes in his hothouse all winter long
an urban enclave of bohemians that acquired a reputation for being a hothouse of creativity
Recent Examples on the Web
John Timmer, Ars Technica, 20 Sep. 2024
The parks became hothouses for startup companies, which drew talent from those universities and used government bonuses to lure experienced expats back home.
—Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2024
April Long, Town & Country, 13 Sep. 2019
These fragile and artificial economies require hothouse conditions that a weakened OPEC can no longer provide.
—Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 11 Dec. 2017
See all Example Sentences for hothouse 
Noun
By contrast, during hothouse periods, the equator-to-pole difference tended to be on the order of 15° to 25° C.
Heating the globe
One thing that is clear from comparing this record with carbon dioxide is that there's a close correlation between the two.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 20 Sep. 2024
The parks became hothouses for startup companies, which drew talent from those universities and used government bonuses to lure experienced expats back home.
—Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2024
Adjective
Fracas, fittingly beloved by personality-plus women such as Madonna, Martha Stewart, and Isabella Blow, dials the heady, hothouse opulence of tuberose up to 11 with the addition of jasmine, tonka bean, and musk.
—April Long, Town & Country, 13 Sep. 2019
These fragile and artificial economies require hothouse conditions that a weakened OPEC can no longer provide.
—Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 11 Dec. 2017
See all Example Sentences for hothouse
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hothouse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hothouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hothouse. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.
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