house·keep·ing
ˈhau̇s-ˌkē-piŋ
1
a
: the management of a house and home affairs
… coming home to husbands who won't share in the housekeeping …—The Wilson Quarterly
The first defense against insect infestation is good housekeeping (regular vacuuming) to remove eggs and larvae from the fabrics.—Sara J. Wolf
b
: the work or activity of cleaning and preparing rooms for customers (as in a hotel)
—often used before another noun
housekeeping services
took a housekeeping job at a nearby hotel
also
: the department or employees responsible for doing such work
If you need fresh towels you can call housekeeping.
2
: the care and management of property and the provision of equipment and services (as for an industrial organization)
3
: the routine tasks that must be done in order for a system to function or to function efficiently
performing some computer housekeeping by deleting old files
see also:
housekeeping
2 of 2present participle of housekeep
Cite this Entry
“Housekeeping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/housekeeping. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.
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