1. 1. A domestic unit consisting of the members of a family who live together along with nonrelatives such as servants.
   2. The living spaces and possessions belonging to such a unit.
2. A person or group of people occupying a single dwelling: the rise of nonfamily households.

1. Of, relating to, or used in a household: household appliances.
2. Commonly known; familiar: has become a household name.

[Middle English houshold : hous, house; see house + hold, possession, holding (from Old English , from healdan, to hold; see hold¹).]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.