hothouse

UK: /ˈhɒthaʊs/ US: /ˈhɑtˌhaʊs/ ,(hot′hous′)

Inflections of 'hothouse' (n): npl: hothouses

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

hot•house /ˈhɑtˌhaʊs/   n. [countable]

1. Botany an artificially heated building, esp. a greenhouse, for the growing of tender plants.

adj. [before a noun]

2. Botany grown in a hothouse:
   hothouse tomatoes.
3. overprotected:
   a spoiled, hothouse child.
4. favoring rapid development:
   a hothouse environment for new ideas.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

hot•house  (hot′hous′), n., pl. -hous•es (-hou′ziz), adj. 
n. 

1. Botany an artificially heated greenhouse for the cultivation of tender plants.

adj. 

2. Botany of, pertaining to, or noting a plant grown in a hothouse, or so fragile as to be capable of being grown only in a hothouse.
3. overprotected, artificial, or unnaturally delicate.

• hot + house 1505–15

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

hothouse / ˈhɒtˌhaʊs/ noun

1. a greenhouse in which the temperature is maintained at a fixed level above that of the surroundings
2. (as modifier): a hothouse plant
3. an environment that encourages rapid development
4. (as modifier): a hot-house atmosphere
5. (modifier) sensitive or delicate: a hothouse temperament