Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

Housing \Hous"ing\, n. [From {Houss}.]
   1. A cover or cloth for a horse's saddle, as an ornamental or
      military appendage; a saddlecloth; a horse cloth; in
      plural, trappings.

   2. An appendage to the hames or collar of a harness.

Housing \Hous"ing\, n. [From {House}. In some of its senses this
   word has been confused with the following word.]
   1. The act of putting or receiving under shelter; the state
      of dwelling in a habitation.

   2. That which shelters or covers; houses, taken collectively.
      --Fabyan.

   3. (Arch.)
      (a) The space taken out of one solid, to admit the
          insertion of part of another, as the end of one timber
          in the side of another.
      (b) A niche for a statue.

   4. (Mach.) A frame or support for holding something in place,
      as journal boxes, etc.

   5. (Naut.)
      (a) That portion of a mast or bowsprit which is beneath
          the deck or within the vessel.
      (b) A covering or protection, as an awning over the deck
          of a ship when laid up.
      (c) A houseline. See {Houseline}.

Source : WordNet®

housing
     n 1: housing structures collectively; structures in which people
          are housed [syn: {lodging}, {living accommodations}]
     2: a protective cover designed to contain or support a
        mechanical component
     3: stable gear consisting of a decorated covering for a horse,
        especially (formerly) for a warhorse [syn: {caparison}, {trapping},
         {trappings}, {housings}]