hovel

/ˈhʌvəl/

/ˈhɒvəl/

Other forms: hovels; hovelling

A hovel is a small shed or dwelling, often messy, cramped, and crudely built, such as a shelter in a refugee camp — or possibly your apartment if you have too much stuff and not enough time to clean.

The word hovel was used in the fifteenth century to describe a shed used for animals, and by the seventeenth century the word had taken on its current usage as a way to describe a crude human dwelling — though the connotation of a messiness associated with animals still remains. The word can be used literally to describe something that is a ramshackle shack, but you’ll also hear it used with wry humor to describe a person’s modest living quarters: “Well, I’m off to my hovel to get some sleep.”

Definitions of hovel

1. noun

   small crude shelter used as a dwelling
   synonyms: hut, hutch, shack, shanty

   types:

   igloo, iglu

   an Inuit hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome

   mudhif

   a reed hut in the marshlands of Iraq; rare since the marshes were drained

   type of:

   shelter

   a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger