housekeeping

noun

house·​keep·​ing ˈhau̇s-ˌkē-piŋ 

1

a

: the management of a house and home affairs

… coming home to husbands who won't share in the housekeeping …

—The Wilson Quarterly

The first defense against insect infestation is good housekeeping (regular vacuuming) to remove eggs and larvae from the fabrics.

—Sara J. Wolf

b

: the work or activity of cleaning and preparing rooms for customers (as in a hotel)

—often used before another noun

housekeeping services

took a housekeeping job at a nearby hotel

also : the department or employees responsible for doing such work

If you need fresh towels you can call housekeeping.

2

: the care and management of property and the provision of equipment and services (as for an industrial organization)

3

: the routine tasks that must be done in order for a system to function or to function efficiently

performing some computer housekeeping by deleting old files

Examples of housekeeping in a Sentence

We took the computer offline to do some basic housekeeping.

Recent Examples on the Web

Quick housekeeping note: This will be the last edition of Current Climate for 2024. —Amy Feldman, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024

To be sure, securing trademarks is a relatively perfunctory bit of legal housekeeping and doesn’t necessarily indicate grander plans are underway. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 22 Dec. 2024

Larry's wish: A bed and mattress; clothes; a television; kitchen and housekeeping items; a table; backpack; office supplies. —John Johnston, The Enquirer, 6 Dec. 2024

Throughout the decade that followed, Guerrero worked in housekeeping at a hotel in downtown Phoenix. —Paula Soria, The Arizona Republic, 13 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1529, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing housekeeping

• light housekeeping
• set up housekeeping

Kids Definition

housekeeping

noun

house·​keep·​ing

ˈhau̇-ˌskē-piŋ

: the care and management of a house and home affairs