house
11
4.6
- noun
- /haʊs/
- Baby Talk
- During recess, the kids love to play house with their friends, taking on different family roles.
- play house
Examples
-
Young girls (ages 7 to 9) reported playing house or other fantasy games such as "ponies."
Academic text (1992) -
let's say when a child of four is playing house, she
-
What if I asked the house to play house?
-
The daughter of the house told me it was a little game he played.
Fiction book (1995) -
I am home and I've made it in time for house play time.
-
The children were actively involved in many interest groups: barber/beauty shop, playing house, puppets, sandbox, etc.
Academic text (1992) -
Let's play house and pretend we are a real family.
-
The children spent hours playing house in the backyard, acting like they were grown-ups.
Idioms
- Informal
19
5.1
A plan or organization that seems strong but is actually weak and likely to fail
- Informal
2
7.5
To eat so much at someone's home that they have almost no food left
- Informal
1
6.5
Suddenly fail completely because it is weak or badly built
Compounds
814
1.9
The government building in Washington, D.C. where the US president lives and works
181
3.0
The lower law-making part of the United States Congress with people chosen from each state by population
39
4.6
A place where people live while they recover from addiction or return from prison and prepare to live alone
24
3.0
A company that sells things to the person who pays the most, often paintings or antiques
15
3.5
The elected lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament that makes and passes laws
The part of the United States Congress with elected representatives that makes and passes federal laws
- Baby Talk
11
2.1
A small model house with tiny furniture that children play with using dolls
8
4.1
The upper house of the UK Parliament made of appointed and hereditary members who review laws
- Specialized
7
4.5
A company that buys and sells stocks or other investments for clients
A lower house of the United States Congress where members elected from each state make and pass national laws
- Slur
4
9.9
A very offensive racial insult for Black people once used for slaves in the owner's house and now unacceptable
The lower house of the United States Congress with 435 elected members who make national laws
3
3.7
A house that is old and kept because it has an important past and is often open to visitors
- Specialized
3
4.8
An organization that collects and shares information or payments between other groups
2
2.8
A person who stays in and looks after a house while the owners are away, often without pay
2
3.9
The royal family that has ruled the United Kingdom and other countries in the Commonwealth since 1917
How Strategic
Surface Forms
Etymology
The children's game 'play house' comes from children copying family life inside a pretend home, so the word here simply stands for the home and the roles people have in it.