Slang dictionary
on the house
[on th uh hous]
What does on the house mean?
On the house is an idiom meaning “free of charge.”
Where does on the house come from?
We can find on the house as early as the 1880s in the US, used in reference to free first drinks for customers at saloons. Throughout the 20th century, the phrase extended to other businesses providing complimentary food and drink to their customers, from cafes offering a coffee on the house to an ice-cream shop providing an extra scoop on the house.
While the phrased has expanded, it has generally referred to bars, restaurants, and other food-service establishments, which can vend individual items of smaller value. Retailers have also come to use the phrase during promotional offers (e.g., “buy one suit and get a dress shirt on the house” or “spend $500 in carpeting and get an extra $50 on the house”).
Examples of on the house
Who uses on the house?
On the house is colloquially used in speech and writing in a variety of commercial contexts.
A manager may give a customer who is dissatisfied with a product (e.g., a meal they waited a long time for at a restaurant) that same product on the house, a conciliatory measure acknowledging their displeasure and effort to keep their future business. Conversely, a manager may give a regular or extremely generous customer some extra drinks or dessert on the house as a gesture of familiarity or gratitude.
Celebrities and esteemed public servants (e.g., military, law enforcement, firefighters) may also receive items on the house as a show of respect for their clout or service.
As these instances suggest, on the house is transactional, with the establishment taking on the cost (free goods) for the benefits (customer satisfaction) of giving something on the house.
On the house has supplied the title of several works and figures, including the 2012 album On The House by hip-hop group Slaughterhouse and the name of a successful racehorse in 1982. Major online gaming provider Origin also offers a free service it calls On the House.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of on the house like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of on the house that will help our users expand their word mastery.