open house

noun

1. a party or reception during which anyone who wishes may visit to share in a celebration, meet a special guest, etc.
2. a time during which a school, institution, etc., is open to the public for exhibition or for some specific occasion.
3. a house hospitably open to all friends who may wish to visit it.

open house

noun

1. an occasion on which an institution, such as a school, is open for inspection by the public Also called (in Britain and certain other countries)open dayat-home
2. keep open house
   to be always ready to provide hospitality
3. a house available for inspection by prospective buyers

Word History and Origins

Origin of open house¹

First recorded in 1520–30

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. keep open house, to be prepared to entertain visitors at any time:

   They keep open house for artists and writers.

Example Sentences

“I own a little Western town out in the desert,” says Gold, perched atop a balcony at a broker’s open house for a swanky Manhattan Beach property.

From Los Angeles Times

A promising pipeline of new applicants is studying at court reporter schools, attending open houses about job openings and preparing to take the state reporter exam, they said.

From Los Angeles Times

Today, buyers can easily find homes for sale online and don’t need an agent to tell them about potential open houses.

From Los Angeles Times

On Sunday afternoon, Emmitt Hayes stood in an empty open house in Jefferson Park waiting for buyers.

From Los Angeles Times

L.A.’s open houses were thick with the resulting panic, generated by throngs of millennial couples, looking-glass versions of ourselves, all desperate to get ahead of the curve.

From Los Angeles Times