Meaning & use
rough housing
Last updated
“rough housing” is a form of “roughhouse”.
Meanings
noununcountableinformal
Rough, noisy play in which people (especially children) push, wrestle, or chase each other in fun.
Grammar: Uncountable: it has no plural. You say 'rough housing is fun' not 'rough housings are fun'.
Patterns
- rough housing with someone
- a bit of rough housing
- no rough housing
The kids were told to stop their rough housing before someone got hurt.
A little rough housing is normal for puppies, but they need to learn when to stop.
The teacher separated the boys after their rough housing in the hallway.
verbintransitiveinformal
The -ing form of 'roughhouse': playing in a rough, noisy way.
Grammar: No object; it describes the action itself. It often appears after 'be' or 'was': 'They were rough housing.'
Patterns
- be rough housing
- start rough housing
- rough housing around
The children were rough housing in the living room until their mother told them to calm down.
He got a bruise from rough housing with his friends at the park.
Stop rough housing around the furniture!
Word forms
| base form | roughhouse |
|---|---|
| third person singular | roughhouses |
| past tense | roughhoused |
| past participle | roughhoused |
| -ing form | roughhousing |
Common combinations
- stop rough housing
- The lifeguard blew his whistle and told the teens to stop rough housing in the pool.
- rough housing with someone
- The father enjoyed rough housing with his sons on the weekend.
- a bit of rough housing
- A bit of rough housing is fine as long as no one gets hurt.
- no rough housing
- The sign in the waiting room said 'No rough housing'.
Synonyms and how they differ
- horseplay
- Similar meaning, but 'horseplay' often suggests slightly more dangerous or silly behavior and is a bit more formal.
- wrestling
- A specific type of rough housing that involves grappling, often as a sport.
- scuffling
- Suggests a brief, less playful fight; 'rough housing' is usually friendly.
Opposites
Word family
- roughhouse verb
- To play in a rough, noisy way.
- roughhouser noun
- A person who often roughhouses.
Commonly confused: rough housing or roughhousing?
rough housing vs roughhousing
This is the standard one-word spelling. 'Rough housing' (two words) is also seen but less common; both mean the same.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'rough housing' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Rough housing' is the -ing form and needs a helping verb like 'were'. Option 1 is wrong because it is uncountable (no plural 'were'). Options 3 and 4 are missing the helping verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rough housing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.