it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home

A form of it takes a heap of living to make a house a home — A house is simply a physical structure and does not count as a home until significant events in the inhabitants' lives have occurred there over a substantial period of time, and they have developed an emotional bond to the house and its immediate environs.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. alternativeAlternative form of it takes a heap of living to make a house a home.
Cite this entry
APA

it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it%20takes%20a%20heap%20o'%20livin'%20to%20make%20a%20house%20a%20home

MLA

“it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it%20takes%20a%20heap%20o'%20livin'%20to%20make%20a%20house%20a%20home. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it%20takes%20a%20heap%20o'%20livin'%20to%20make%20a%20house%20a%20home.

Source: it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.