household

/ˈhaʊshoʊld/

/ˈhaʊshəʊld/

Other forms: households

How many people does your house hold? That’s your household! A household refers to a family or group of people living together. It’s a social unit under one roof.

All the people living in your house, including servants, make up your household. Don’t have any servants? Well, your roommates count as part of your household, too. In the middle of the night, your household might be asleep. Your household income could determine whether or not you get the pool in the backyard. Household can also be an adjective to describe — you guessed it — things that are in your house, like household appliances or household furniture.

Definitions of household

1. noun

   a social unit living together
   synonyms: family, home, house, menage

   types:

   broken home

   a family in which the parents have separated or divorced

   conjugal family, nuclear family

   a family consisting of parents and their children and grandparents of a marital partner

   extended family

   a family consisting of the nuclear family and their blood relatives

   foster family

   the family of a fosterling

   foster home

   a household in which an orphaned or delinquent child is placed (usually by a social-service agency)

   menage a trois

   household for three; an arrangement where a married couple and a lover of one of them live together while sharing sexual relations

   type of:

   social unit, unit

   an organization regarded as part of a larger social group