hovels

Noun

hovel (plural hovels)

1. An open shed for sheltering cattle, or protecting produce, etc., from the weather.
2. (derogatory) A poor cottage; a small, mean house; a hut.
   • 'Behold! once more I kiss thee, and by that kiss I give to thee dominion over sea and earth, over the peasant in his hovel, over the monarch in his palace halls, and cities crowned with towers, and those who breathe therein.'1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   shack, shanty

3. In the manufacture of porcelain, a large, conical brick structure around which the firing kilns are grouped.
4. (Midwestern-US, archaic, slang) A straitjacket.

See all 6 meanings of hovel