House vs. Cottage — What's the Difference?

A structure for human living

A modest vacation home

A place of business

A historic or traditional home

A family lineage

A small rural dwelling

A house is a single-unit residential building, which may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Houses use a range of different roofing systems to keep precipitation such as rain from getting into the dwelling space.

A cottage is typically a small house. It may carry the connotation of being an old or old-fashioned building.

A building for human habitation, especially one that consists of a ground floor and one or more upper storeys

A small house, typically one in the country

A building in which people meet for a particular activity

(in the context of casual homosexual encounters) a public toilet.

A religious community that occupies a particular building

Perform homosexual acts in a public toilet

A legislative or deliberative assembly

A small, single-storied house, especially in the country.

A style of electronic dance music typically having sparse, repetitive vocals and a fast beat

A usually small vacation house.

A twelfth division of the celestial sphere, based on the positions of the ascendant and midheaven at a given time and place, and determined by any of a number of methods.

A small house.

Old-fashioned term for bingo

A seasonal home of any size or stature, a recreational home or a home in a remote location.

(of an animal or plant) kept in, frequenting, or infesting buildings.

A public lavatory.

Relating to a firm, institution, or society

(Polari) A meeting place for homosexual men.

Provide with shelter or accommodation

To stay at a seasonal home, to go cottaging.

Provide space for; contain or accommodate

To have homosexual sex in a public lavatory; to practice cottaging.

A structure serving as a dwelling for one or more persons, especially for a family.

A small house; a cot; a hut.

A household or family.

A small house with a single story

Something, such as a burrow or shell, that serves as a shelter or habitation for a wild animal.

A small, one-story house

A dwelling for a group of people, such as students or members of a religious community, who live together as a unit

A dwelling in a picturesque setting

A building that functions as the primary shelter or location of something

A building devoted to a particular activity

A facility, such as a theater or restaurant, that provides entertainment or food for the public

The seating area in such an establishment

The audience or patrons of such an establishment

A commercial firm

A publishing company

A gambling casino.

(Slang) A house of prostitution.

A residential college within a university.

Often House A legislative or deliberative assembly.

The hall or chamber in which such an assembly meets.

A quorum of such an assembly.

Often House A family line including ancestors and descendants, especially a royal or noble family

One of the 12 parts into which the heavens are divided in astrology.

The sign of the zodiac indicating the seat or station of a planet in the heavens. Also called mansion.

House music.

To provide living quarters for; lodge

To shelter, keep, or store in a house or other structure

To fit (something) into a socket or mortise.

(Nautical) To secure or stow safely.

To reside; dwell.

To take shelter.

A structure built or serving as an abode of human beings.

An apartment building within a public housing estate.

(uncountable) Size and quality of residential accommodations.

A building intended to contain a single household, as opposed to an apartment or condominium or building containing these.

The people who live in a house; a household.

A building used for something other than a residence (typically with qualifying word).

A place of business; a company or organisation, especially a printing press, a publishing company, or a couturier.

A place of public accommodation or entertainment, especially a public house, an inn, a restaurant, a theatre, or a casino; or the management thereof.

(historical) A workhouse.

The audience for a live theatrical or similar performance.

A theatre.

(politics) A building where a deliberative assembly meets; whence the assembly itself, particularly a component of a legislature.

A dynasty; a family with its ancestors and descendants, especially a royal or noble one.

(metaphorical) A place of rest or repose.

A grouping of schoolchildren for the purposes of competition in sports and other activities.

An animal's shelter or den, or the shell of an animal such as a snail, used for protection.

(astrology) One of the twelve divisions of an astrological chart.

(cartomancy) The fourth Lenormand card.

A square on a chessboard, regarded as the proper place of a piece.

(curling) The four concentric circles where points are scored on the ice.

Lotto; bingo.

(uncountable) A children's game in which the players pretend to be members of a household.

A small stand of trees in a swamp.

(sudoku) A set of cells in a Sudoku puzzle which must contain each digit exactly once, such as a row, column, or 3×3 box in classic Sudoku.

(music genre) House music.

(transitive) To keep within a structure or container.

(transitive) To admit to residence; to harbor.

To take shelter or lodging; to abide; to lodge.

To dwell within one of the twelve astrological houses.

(transitive) To contain or cover mechanical parts.

(transitive) To contain one part of an object for the purpose of locating the whole.

(obsolete) To drive to a shelter.

(obsolete) To deposit and cover, as in the grave.

(nautical) To stow in a safe place; to take down and make safe.

To eat.

A structure intended or used as a habitation or shelter for animals of any kind; but especially, a building or edifice for the habitation of man; a dwelling place, a mansion.

Household affairs; domestic concerns; particularly in the phrase to keep house. See below.

Those who dwell in the same house; a household.

A family of ancestors, descendants, and kindred; a race of persons from the same stock; a tribe; especially, a noble family or an illustrious race; as, the house of Austria; the house of Hanover; the house of Israel.

One of the estates of a kingdom or other government assembled in parliament or legislature; a body of men united in a legislative capacity; as, the House of Lords; the House of Commons; the House of Representatives; also, a quorum of such a body. See Congress, and Parliament.

A firm, or commercial establishment.

A public house; an inn; a hotel.

A twelfth part of the heavens, as divided by six circles intersecting at the north and south points of the horizon, used by astrologers in noting the positions of the heavenly bodies, and casting horoscopes or nativities. The houses were regarded as fixed in respect to the horizon, and numbered from the one at the eastern horizon, called the ascendant, first house, or house of life, downward, or in the direction of the earth's revolution, the stars and planets passing through them in the reverse order every twenty-four hours.

A square on a chessboard, regarded as the proper place of a piece.

An audience; an assembly of hearers, as at a lecture, a theater, etc.; as, a thin or a full house.

The body, as the habitation of the soul.

The grave.

To take or put into a house; to shelter under a roof; to cover from the inclemencies of the weather; to protect by covering; as, to house one's family in a comfortable home; to house farming utensils; to house cattle.

To drive to a shelter.

To admit to residence; to harbor.

To deposit and cover, as in the grave.

To stow in a safe place; to take down and make safe; as, to house the upper spars.

To take shelter or lodging; to abide to dwell; to lodge.

A dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families;

An official assembly having legislative powers;

A building in which something is sheltered or located;

A social unit living together;

A building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented;

Members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments;

Aristocratic family line;

The members of a religious community living together

The audience gathered together in a theatre or cinema;

Play in which children take the roles of father or mother or children and pretend to interact like adults;

(astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided

The management of a gambling house or casino;

Contain or cover;

Provide housing for;

A legislative body

For its charm, traditional style, or setting in a picturesque location.

Yes, generally houses can be of any size, while cottages are typically smaller.

While many are, contemporary cottages exist and blend modern elements with traditional charm.

Often, but not always. Some cottages might have two stories.

Yes, like "house of worship" or "house of parliament."

Traditionally, cottages are rural or semi-rural, but the term can be used for city dwellings if they have cottage-like characteristics.

A cottage is primarily a residence but often serves as a vacation or getaway home.

No, while every cottage is a house, not every house is a cottage.

While they provide housing, they're typically not referred to as houses.