ENGLISH
REFERENCE

house

n. countable
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈhaʊs// house Archaic Dialect General-service Slang

n. a building where people live, usually for one family. You use this word for the physical structure rather than the feeling of being at home.

n. a building that serves as a living space for one or more families. Often used to distinguish a detached or semi-detached structure from an apartment or flat.


SIMPLE

They are building a new house on our street.

CONTEXTUAL

After living in a small apartment for years, they finally saved enough money to buy a house with a garden.

COMPLEX

The architect designed the house to maximize natural light, using large glass panels that blur the boundary between the interior living space and the surrounding woodland.

Synonyms
Origin

* As an English surname, from the noun house. * Also as an English surname, variant of Howes. * Also as a topographic English surname, from a derivative of Old English hyse (“place overgrown with water plants”), from hos (“bramble, thorn, sprout”). This may have also made its way into Hose, Huss. * As a German surname, calqued from the surname Haus.

Usage

Commonly used with the verbs 'build', 'buy', or 'rent'; distinguished from 'home' which carries more emotional or personal significance.

Pitfall

I am going to my house now.I am going home now.Learners often use 'house' when they mean 'home' to describe their destination; 'home' is used as an adverb of direction without a preposition.

Idioms17 entries

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