housekeeper

noun

house·​keep·​er ˈhau̇s-ˌkē-pər How to pronounce housekeeper (audio)
Synonyms of housekeepernext
1
: one employed to manage the domestic duties involved in maintaining a house
2
: a member of a household who manages the domestic duties of the household
She was her father's housekeeper …—Lucy Maud Montgomery
especially : one who keeps house in a specified way
was always a good/poor housekeeper
… a tidy housekeeper who kept flowers outside his unit … —Kyle Swenson

Synonyms of housekeeper

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Examples of housekeeper in a Sentence

they hired a housekeeper to help their aging parents live at home
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
When his son suddenly turns up alive and well, Mark and his psychiatrist wife, Abigail (Kerry Washington), realize that the kidnapper accidentally took the child of Ramón (Luis Gerardo Méndez), their housekeeper’s undocumented day-laborer boyfriend. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026 Everyone from the front-desk employees to the housekeepers to the yoga instructors were helpful and attentive. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026 By tightening those subplots, the series focuses more by design on exploring the inner lives of Cathy, Adam and Lee (Hoon Lee) — the Trask’s cook and housekeeper who becomes a second parent of sorts to Charles’ twin boys, Cal and Aron. — Max Gao, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026 If the housekeeper rejects the reduced award, the judge said, Brown will be entitled to a new trial limited to damages. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for housekeeper

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1528, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of housekeeper was circa 1528

Rhymes for housekeeper

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Cite this Entry

“Housekeeper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/housekeeper. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

housekeeper

noun
house·​keep·​er ˈhau̇-ˌskē-pər How to pronounce housekeeper (audio)
: a person employed to take care of a house
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