Housewife Meaning
/ˈhaʊs.waɪf/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA woman whose main employment is homemaking, maintaining the upkeep of her home and tending to household affairs; often, such a woman whose sole [unpaid] employment is homemaking.
nounThe wife of a householder; the mistress of a family; the female head of a household.
Sentence Examples
I would hate to become just a housewife.
This is a great time-saving gadget for the housewife.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ spends her day taking care of her home and children.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In the past, it was very common for a woman to be a full-time ____ and mother.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English houswyf, housewif, huswijf, equivalent to house + wife; a doublet of hussy, which it was long distinguished from and displaced due to gradual negative connotation (see Online Etymology Dictionary entry). Cognate with West Frisian húswiif, Dutch huiswijf, German Low German Huuswief, German Hausweib.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"2000, Uli Kusch, "Mr. Torture", Helloween, The Dark Ride
Mr Torture sells pain / To the housewives in Spain / He knows just what they crave / Mr Torture"
—
"It was a housewife, containing needles, a bodkin, and thread; ‘and, do you know,’ added he, ‘it was the most useful thing she could have given me, for it lasted all the time I was at Rome to mend my clothes with […].’"
— 1828, JT Smith, Nollekens and His Times, Century Hutchinson, published 1986, page 246:
"Woffington's housewife, made by herself, homely to the eye, but holds everything in the world"
— 1852, Tom Taylor, Charles Reade, Masks and Faces, act II:
"The "soldier's housewife" was a small sewing kit that was carried to make timely repairs to clothing and equipment."
— 1997, David L. Phillips, A Soldier's Story, MetroBooks, →ISBN, page 61:
"Career opportunity […] is the one who never knocks — especially not on the doors of women, who are still hooking, housewifing and hairdressing for their livings."
— 1983 December 10, Jolanta Benal, “The Second Revolution”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 21, page 14:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ spends her day taking care of her home and children.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In the past, it was very common for a woman to be a full-time ____ and mother.