View synonyms for

housewife

[ hous-wahyfor, usually, huhz-if ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural housewives

Sometimes Offensive. a married woman who manages her own household, especially as her principal occupation.
British. a sewing box; a small case or box for needles, thread, etc.

verb (used with or without object)

housewifed, housewifing.

Archaic. to manage with efficiency and economy, as a household.

housewife

/ ˈhaʊsˌwɪfərɪ; -ˌwɪfrɪ; ˈhaʊsˌwaɪf /

noun

a woman, typically a married woman, who keeps house, usually without having paid employment
Also calledhussyhuswifeˈhʌzɪf a small sewing kit issued to soldiers

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Sensitive Note

Most people, married or unmarried, find the term housewife perfectly acceptable. But it is sometimes perceived as insulting, perhaps because it implies a lowly status (“She’s just a housewife”) or because it defines an occupation in terms of a woman's relation to a man. Homemaker is a fairly common substitute.

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Derived Forms

housewifery, noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of housewife¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English hus(e)wif; house, wife

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

A frustrated filmmaker trapped in the role of housewife, she found herself increasingly alienated from Matthew, who seemed content with their conventional existence.

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And in an episode dedicated to Astoria — a nice change of view — a stereotypical housewife from a TV coffee commercial materializes in her living room.

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But the videos of them acting like 1950s housewives, making them oodles of cash from curious viewers, function as a form of propaganda.

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His father was a lumber inspector and his mother a housewife.

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In one episode, as Astoria watches a coffee commercial typical of the period, the housewife on the television set appears in the Chambers family home.

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Related Words

homemaker

house-warming housewifely

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