household
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the work and organization needed to keep a home running.
n.the collective tasks, management, and maintenance required to sustain a domestic establishment.
Simple“She took over the management of the household after her father retired.”
In context“The daily chores required to maintain a large Victorian household were often divided among several specialized staff members.”
Synonymshousekeepingdomesticity - 02 B1 Intermediate
adj.relating to a house or the people living in it.
adj.pertaining to the home or family; relating to domestic life and maintenance.
Simple“We need to buy some basic household items like soap and light bulbs.”
In context“The survey focused on the rising cost of essential household goods and their impact on low-income families.”
Synonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.very well known by almost everyone.
adj.widely known to the general public; familiar to the point of being a common topic of conversation.
Simple“The young singer became a household name after winning the talent show.”
In context“Within six months of the product launch, the brand had become a household name across the entire continent.”
UsageAlmost exclusively used in the fixed phrase 'household name'.
Teacher's tipExplain that this sense is nearly always paired with 'name' to describe a celebrity or a very famous brand.
Synonyms
Usage household bills · household name · household budgets
“C wanted to go back and work at the radio station but was often required to complete household tasks under the direction of Jones’s butler.”
“About a dozen Palestinian households in a village in the occupied West Bank were told to leave their properties during an Israeli military operation to remove Israeli settlers.”
From Middle English houshold. By surface analysis, house + hold. Cognate with Scots houshald, housald, housell, howsell (“household”), Dutch huishouden (“household”) (earlier huishoud), German Low German Huushollen (“household”) (Middle Low German hūsholt), German Haushalt (“household”), Swedish hushåll (“household, family”), Norwegian husholdning (“household”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.