English

Noun

art house ‎(plural art houses)

1. A cinema that shows art films and foreign films which are not widely distributed.
   • 1953, D. W. Smythe et al., "Portrait of an Art-Theater Audience," The Quarterly of Film Radio and Television, vol. 8, no. 1, p. 28,

     Practically nothing has yet been reported in detail about audiences who attend the art house—a relatively new and growing institution on the American cinematic scene.

2. (dated) A building or gallery in which works of art are collected, displayed, and offered for sale.
   • 1946, "Dutch Bouquet," Time, 16 Dec.,

     Hitler had "collected" most of the paintings from a Jewish-owned art house—Goudstikker of Amsterdam.

Derived terms

• art-house adj

Translations

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.

Anagrams

• house rat, share out