play house

plural play houses · alternative playhouse

1. A dollhouse.

   Synonyms: doll's house

2. A child's toy domestic dwelling, large enough for the child to enter.

   Synonyms: cubby house, toyhouse, Wendy house

3. alternativeAlternative form of playhouse (“theater for performing plays”).

present singular third person plays house · participle present playing house · participle past played house · past played house · alternative playhouse

1. children's gamesTo pretend to be a family in the household, acting out housekeeping and different family roles.

   They can keep all their things there and play house in their own way.

2. To live as if married without actually being legally married, cohabit

   Playing House Instead / There are times you may find it more appropriate to live with someone rather than rush into marriage.

   2009, Fisher Ellie Slott, Mom There's a Man in the Kitchen and He's Wearing Your Robe

   2 more examples

   Though she flaunted her affair with TJ, Grace never admitted in print that she and George had “played house” before their marriage. Instead, she claimed they were married in 1942

   1981, Emily Toth, Inside Peyton Place: the life of Grace Metalious, page 209

   I really don't like you playing house with the kids around. I don't want the kids to think that it's okay to live together without commitment.

   2010, Kim Stafford, Damage, page 122

alternative playhouse

1. entertainmentA stage name for a Paris based DJ and electronic music producer active since 2022.