OPEN HOUSE Definition & Meaning

open house

noun

a party or reception during which anyone who wishes may visit to share in a celebration, meet a special guest, etc.
a time during which a school, institution, etc., is open to the public for exhibition or for some specific occasion.
a house hospitably open to all friends who may wish to visit it.

open house

noun

an occasion on which an institution, such as a school, is open for inspection by the public Also called (in Britain and certain other countries)open dayat-home
keep open house
to be always ready to provide hospitality
a house available for inspection by prospective buyers

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of open house¹

First recorded in 1520–30

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Idioms and Phrases

keep open house, to be prepared to entertain visitors at any time:
They keep open house for artists and writers.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

It was a bittersweet moment for Elachi, 76, who had danced down that tiled staircase when she and her husband first saw the home during an open house in the early 1980s.

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There was an open house until 5 p.m.

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As the attendees of CalEarth’s February open house filter through the inviting living spaces of Earth One, that certainly feels true.

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One man told The Times his brother-in-law showed up at a rental open house near Brentwood and the listing agent told him to fill out a form with his best offer.

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It’s an open house as the show begins, and nearly all the major characters will walk through, while Paul and Lydia spy on them via video from a locked room upstairs, eating popcorn.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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