hothouse

1 of 2

noun

hot·​house ˈhät-ˌhau̇s 

1

: a greenhouse maintained at a high temperature especially for the culture of tropical plants

2

: hotbed sense 2

3

obsolete : brothel

hothouse

2 of 2

adjective

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

Noun

• conservatory
• glasshouse [chiefly British]
• greenhouse

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

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1556, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Adjective

1771, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

hothouse

noun

hot·​house

-ˌhau̇s

: a heated greenhouse

hothouse adjective