Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

House \House\, n.; pl. {Houses}. [OE. hous, hus, AS. h?s; akin
   to OS. & OFries. h?s, D. huis, OHG. h?s, G. haus, Icel. h?s,
   Sw. hus, Dan. huus, Goth. gudh?s, house of God, temple; and
   prob. to E. hide to conceal. See {Hide}, and cf. {Hoard},
   {Husband}, {Hussy}, {Husting}.]
   1. A structure intended or used as a habitation or shelter
      for animals of any kind; but especially, a building or
      edifice for the habitation of man; a dwelling place, a
      mansion.

            Houses are built to live in; not to look on.
                                                  --Bacon.

            Bees with smoke and doves with noisome stench Are
            from their hives and houses driven away. --Shak.

   2. Household affairs; domestic concerns; particularly in the
      phrase to keep house. See below.

   3. Those who dwell in the same house; a household.

            One that feared God with all his house. --Acts x. 2.

   4. A family of ancestors, descendants, and kindred; a race of
      persons from the same stock; a tribe; especially, a noble
      family or an illustrious race; as, the house of Austria;
      the house of Hanover; the house of Israel.

            The last remaining pillar of their house, The one
            transmitter of their ancient name.    --Tennyson.

   5. One of the estates of a kingdom or other government
      assembled in parliament or legislature; a body of men
      united in a legislative capacity; as, the House of Lords;
      the House of Commons; the House of Representatives; also,
      a quorum of such a body. See {Congress}, and {Parliament}.

   6. (Com.) A firm, or commercial establishment.

   7. A public house; an inn; a hotel.

   8. (Astrol.) A twelfth part of the heavens, as divided by six
      circles intersecting at the north and south points of the
      horizon, used by astrologers in noting the positions of
      the heavenly bodies, and casting horoscopes or nativities.
      The houses were regarded as fixed in respect to the
      horizon, and numbered from the one at the eastern horizon,
      called the ascendant, first house, or house of life,
      downward, or in the direction of the earth's revolution,
      the stars and planets passing through them in the reverse
      order every twenty-four hours.

   9. A square on a chessboard, regarded as the proper place of
      a piece.

   10. An audience; an assembly of hearers, as at a lecture, a
       theater, etc.; as, a thin or a full house.

   11. The body, as the habitation of the soul.

             This mortal house I'll ruin, Do C[ae]sar what he
             can.                                 --Shak.

   12.

   Usage: [With an adj., as narrow, dark, etc.] The grave. ``The
          narrow house.'' --Bryant.

   Note: House is much used adjectively and as the first element
         of compounds. The sense is usually obvious; as, house
         cricket, housemaid, house painter, housework.

   {House ant} (Zo["o]l.), a very small, yellowish brown ant
      ({Myrmica molesta}), which often infests houses, and
      sometimes becomes a great pest.

   {House of bishops} (Prot. Epis. Ch.), one of the two bodies
      composing a general convertion, the other being House of
      Clerical and Lay Deputies.

   {House boat}, a covered boat used as a dwelling.

   {House of call}, a place, usually a public house, where
      journeymen connected with a particular trade assemble when
      out of work, ready for the call of employers. [Eng.]

House \House\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Housed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Housing}.] [AS. h?sian.]
   1. To take or put into a house; to shelter under a roof; to
      cover from the inclemencies of the weather; to protect by
      covering; as, to house one's family in a comfortable home;
      to house farming utensils; to house cattle.

            At length have housed me in a humble shed. --Young.

            House your choicest carnations, or rather set them
            under a penthouse.                    --Evelyn.

   2. To drive to a shelter. --Shak.

   3. To admit to residence; to harbor.

            Palladius wished him to house all the Helots. --Sir
                                                  P. Sidney.

   4. To deposit and cover, as in the grave. --Sandys.

   5. (Naut.) To stow in a safe place; to take down and make
      safe; as, to house the upper spars.

House \House\, v. i.
   1. To take shelter or lodging; to abide to dwell; to lodge.

            You shall not house with me.          --Shak.

   2. (Astrol.) To have a position in one of the houses. See
      {House}, n., 8. ``Where Saturn houses.'' --Dryden.

Source : WordNet®

house
     v 1: contain or cover; "This box houses the gears"
     2: provide housing for; "The immigrants were housed in a new
        development outside the town" [syn: {put up}, {domiciliate}]

house
     n 1: a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more
          families; "he has a house on Cape Cod"; "she felt she
          had to get out of the house"
     2: an official assembly having legislative powers; "the
        legislature has two houses"
     3: a building in which something is sheltered or located; "they
        had a large carriage house"
     4: a social unit living together; "he moved his family to
        Virginia"; "It was a good Christian household"; "I waited
        until the whole house was asleep"; "the teacher asked how
        many people made up his home" [syn: {family}, {household},
         {home}, {menage}]
     5: a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture
        shows can be presented; "the house was full" [syn: {theater},
         {theatre}]
     6: members of a business organization that owns or operates one
        or more establishments; "he worked for a brokerage house"
        [syn: {firm}, {business firm}]
     7: aristocratic family line; "the House of York"
     8: the members of a religious community living together
     9: the audience gathered together in a theatre or cinema; "the
        house applauded"; "he counted the house"
     10: play in which children take the roles of father or mother or
         children and pretend to interact like adults; "the
         children were playing house"
     11: (astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is
         divided [syn: {sign of the zodiac}, {star sign}, {sign},
         {mansion}, {planetary house}]
     12: the management of a gambling house or casino; "the house
         gets a percentage of every bet"