View synonyms for

housewife

[hous-wahyf, 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 called: hussy.�� huswife.��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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Other Word 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.

Examining household income trends, she muses, “I calculate I am less than eight years away from being the last housewife in the country.”

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“The truth is I don’t understand one bit how we are to vote,” said Rosa María Castro, 54, a housewife in Mexico City.

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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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Related Words

homemaker��

house-warming housewifely

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