house - See: BOARDING HOUSE REACH, BRING DOWN THE HOUSE, PUN HOUSE, HASH HOUSE, KEEP HOUSE, ON THE HOUSE, PARISH HOUSE, PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULD NOT THROW STONES, PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES or PLAGUE O' BOTH YOUR HOUSES, PUT ONE'S HOUSE IN ORDER or SET ONE'S HOUSE TN ORDER.

house - noun
Also written House ( Music ) (Youth Culture) A style of popular music typically featuring the use of drum machines, sequencers, sampled sound effects, and prominent synthesized bass lines, in combination with sparse, repetitive vocals and a fast beat; called more fully house music. Etymology: An abbreviated form of Warehouse, the name of a nightclub in Chicago where music of this kind was first played (see also warehouse ). History and Usage : House was the creation of disc jockeys at the Warehouse in Chicago and was first played in 1985. It is designed for dancing, and so does away with meaningful lyrics in favour of complicated mixtures of synthesized sounds and a repetitive beat. For these purposes it proved very popular with club-goers and at warehouse parties when introduced in the UK in the late eighties, giving rise to large numbers of sub-genres mixing the features of house music with existing sounds: during 1987-9, following on from acid house, there was deep house (house with more emphasis on lyrics and showing the influence of soul music), hip house (mixing hip hop with house), ska house (house with Jamaican influences), and even Dutch house and Italian house. As a result of this, the term house has come to be used to refer generically to a whole range of sounds which share the characteristics mentioned in the definition above. House also contributed its own vocabulary to the language--for example, the verb jack in the sense 'move', as in the song titles Jack Your Body , Jack It All Night Long, etc. House is the mystifying music they call the key...House is meta-music, always referring outwards to other sounds, past and present. record sleeve of The House Sound of Chicago (1986) It's huge...and last week it became official: The Gallup Top 40 showed that House or House-derived music is occupying the whole Top 5. Guardian 19 Oct. 1989, p. 26

house - n. & v.
--n.

(pl.)
1 a a building for human habitation. b (attrib.) (of an animal) kept in, frequenting, or infesting houses (house-cat; housefly).
2 a building for a special purpose (opera-house; summer-house).
3 a building for keeping animals or goods (hen-house).
4 a a religious community. b the buildings occupied by it.
5 a a body of pupils living in the same building at a boarding-school. b such a building. c a division of a day-school for games, competitions, etc.
6 a a college of a university. b (the House) Christ Church, Oxford.
7 a family, esp. a royal family; a dynasty (House of York).
8 a a firm or institution. b its place of business. c (the House) Brit. colloq. the Stock Exchange.
9 a a legislative or deliberative assembly. b the building where it meets. c (the House) (in the UK) the House of Commons or Lords; (in the US) the House of Representatives.
10 a an audience in a theatre, cinema, etc. b a performance in a theatre or cinema (second house starts at 9 o'clock). c a theatre.
11 Astrol. a twelfth part of the heavens.
12 (attrib.) living in a hospital as a member of staff (house officer; house physician; house surgeon).
13 a a place of public refreshment, a restaurant or inn (coffee-house; public house). b (attrib.) (of wine) selected by the management of a restaurant, hotel, etc. to be offered at a special price.
14 US a brothel.
15 Sc. a dwelling that is one of several in a building.
16 Brit. sl. = HOUSEY-HOUSEY.
17 an animal's den, shell, etc.
18 (the House) Brit. hist. euphem. the workhouse.

--v.

tr.
1 provide (a person, a population, etc.) with a house or houses or other accommodation.
2 store (goods etc.).
3 enclose or encase (a part or fitting).
4 fix in a socket, mortise, etc.

as safe as houses thoroughly or completely safe. house-agent Brit. an agent for the sale and letting of houses. house and home (as an emphatic) home. house arrest detention in one's own house etc., not in prison. house-broken = house-trained. house church 1 a charismatic church independent of traditional denominations.
2 a group meeting in a house as part of the activities of a church. house-dog a dog kept to guard a house. house-father a man in charge of a house, esp. of a home for children. house-flag a flag indicating to what firm a ship belongs. house guest a guest staying for some days in a private house. house-hunting seeking a house to live in. house-husband a husband who carries out the household duties traditionally carried out by a housewife. house lights the lights in the auditorium of a theatre. house magazine a magazine published by a firm and dealing mainly with its own activities. house-martin a black and white swallow-like bird, Delichon urbica, which builds a mud nest on house walls etc. house-mother a woman in charge of a house, esp. of a home for children. house of cards 1 an insecure scheme etc.
2 a structure built (usu. by a child) out of playing cards. House of Commons (in the UK) the elected chamber of Parliament. house of God a church, a place of worship. house of ill fame archaic a brothel. House of Keys (in the Isle of Man) the elected chamber of Tynwald. House of Lords 1 (in the UK) the chamber of Parliament composed of peers and bishops.
2 a committee of specially qualified members of this appointed as the ultimate judicial appeal court. House of Representatives the lower house of the US Congress and other legislatures. house-parent a house-mother or house-father. house party a group of guests staying at a country house etc. house-plant a plant grown indoors. house-proud attentive to, or unduly preoccupied with, the care and appearance of the home. Houses of Parliament 1 the Houses of Lords and Commons regarded together.
2 the buildings where they meet. house sparrow a common brown and grey sparrow, Passer domesticus, which nests in the eaves and roofs of houses. house style a particular printer's or publisher's etc. preferred way of presentation. house-to-house performed at or carried to each house in turn. house-trained Brit.
1 (of animals) trained to be clean in the house.
2 colloq. well-mannered. house-warming a party celebrating a move to a new home. keep house provide for or manage a household. keep (or make) a House secure the presence of enough members for a quorum in the House of Commons. keep open house provide general hospitality. keep to the house (or keep the house) stay indoors. like a house on fire 1 vigorously, fast.
2 successfully, excellently. on the house at the management's expense, free. play house play at being a family in its home. put (or set) one's house in order make necessary reforms. set up house begin to live in a separate dwelling.

houseful n. (pl. -fuls). houseless adj. [OE hus, husian, f. Gmc]