like a house afire

like a house a·fire

L l

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [lahyk ey noun, adjective hous uh-fahyuh r]
- /laɪk eɪ noun, adjective haʊs əˈfaɪər/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [lahyk ey noun, adjective hous uh-fahyuh r]
- /laɪk eɪ noun, adjective haʊs əˈfaɪər/

Definitions of like a house afire words

noun plural like a house afire a building in which people live; residence for human beings. 1
noun plural like a house afire a household. 1
noun plural like a house afire (often initial capital letter) a family, including ancestors and descendants: the great houses of France; the House of Hapsburg. 1
noun plural like a house afire a building for any purpose: a house of worship. 1
noun plural like a house afire a theater, concert hall, or auditorium: a vaudeville house. 1
noun plural like a house afire the audience of a theater or the like. 1

See all 41 definitions of like a house afire

Information block about the term

Origin of like a house afire

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; (noun) Middle English h(o)us, Old English hūs; cognate with Dutch huis, Low German huus, Old Norse hūs, German Haus, Gothic -hūs (in gudhūs temple); (v.) Middle English housen, Old English hūsian, derivative of the noun

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Like a house afire

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Like a house afire

like a house afire popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

like a house afire usage trend in Literature

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