House

A house is a building that is made for people to live in. It is usually built for a family (parents and their children).^[1] It is a "permanent" building that is meant to stay standing. It is not easily packed up and carried away like a tent, or moved like a caravan. If people live in the same house for more than a short stay, then they call it their "home". Being without a home is called homelessness. Houses are usually numbered. Some are also named.

Houses are usually occupied by a single family or housemates, like in the cases of group homes and boarding houses.

Houses come in many different shapes, sizes and architectural styles. They range from one room shacks and cabins to the largest of palaces, mansions and castles. Houses also are made many different materials from thatch and wood , to brick, stone and modern materials like metal. Typically, a house contains only one to three floor levels/ storeys, but four or more stories are common in urban and waterfront areas. Basements are common in certain climatic zones. Houses can be standard shaped or can take unorthodox shapes such as of domes and pyramids. Houses can be detached stand-alone buildings or joined to other houses at the sides to make a "terrace" or "row house" (a connected row of houses).

A big building with many levels and apartments is called "a block of flats" (British) or an apartment building. One of the differences between a house and an apartment is that a house has a front door to the outside world, whereas the main door of an apartment usually opens onto a passage or landing that can be used by other people in the building.

Houses have a roof to keep off the rain and sun, and walls to keep out the wind and cold. They have window openings to let in light, and a floor. Houses of different places may look different to each other, because of different materials, climate, and styles.

If a house is important and historic enough, it can be a museum showcasing how the house's residents lived.

1. ↑ Macmillan Dictionary for Students Macmillan, Pan Ltd. (1981), page 499. Retrieved 2010-7-23.