housewife
noun
house·wife
ˈhau̇s-ˌwīf 
especially in sense 2 and in early poetry
ˈhə-zəf
or -səf
plural housewives
ˈhau̇s-ˌwīvz
also
ˈhau̇z-ˌwīvz
ˈhə-zəfs,
-zəvz,
-səfs,
-səvz
1
: a married woman in charge of a household
2
: a pocket-size container for small articles (such as thread)
Examples of housewife in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And the mother, of course, was a housewife, and also with a middle-class background.
—
Carol Sutton Lewis, Scientific American, 3 Apr. 2026
At the Ricardo residence in the ’50s sitcom I Love Lucy, over-the-top housewife Lucy and Ricky, her excitable husband, were always getting into some sort of entertaining hijinks.
—Michael Gioia, Architectural Digest, 1 Apr. 2026
Pawtuxet Neck Before heading inside the house of real housewife Alicia Carmody, the trailer shows a few quick shots of Pawtuxet Neck in Cranston.
—Catherine Messier, The Providence Journal, 26 Mar. 2026
At one point housewives were admonished not to shake their dust mops outdoors lest that contribute to smog.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for housewife
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Carol Sutton Lewis, Scientific American, 3 Apr. 2026
At the Ricardo residence in the ’50s sitcom I Love Lucy, over-the-top housewife Lucy and Ricky, her excitable husband, were always getting into some sort of entertaining hijinks.
—Michael Gioia, Architectural Digest, 1 Apr. 2026
Pawtuxet Neck Before heading inside the house of real housewife Alicia Carmody, the trailer shows a few quick shots of Pawtuxet Neck in Cranston.
—Catherine Messier, The Providence Journal, 26 Mar. 2026
At one point housewives were admonished not to shake their dust mops outdoors lest that contribute to smog.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for housewife
Cite this Entry
“Housewife.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/housewife. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
housewife
noun
house·wife
ˈhau̇-ˌswīf
sense 2 is often
ˈhəz-əf
ˈhəs-əf
1
: a married woman who manages her own home
2
: a small container for small articles (as thread)
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