full house

IPA/ˌfʊl ˈhaʊs/
IPA/ˌfʊl ˈhaʊs/

full house — noun

1. an event at which all available seats are taken by spectators, leaving no more t

1.名詞B1
釋義

an event at which all available seats are taken by spectators, leaving no more tickets to buy.

例句

The theatre announced a full house for Mira's new musical, with tickets selling out quickly.

collocation: announce a full house

Despite the rain, the stadium had a full house for the local football final.

collocation: have a full house

同義詞
  • sold-out

    used as an adjective before the show/event, e.g. 'a sold-out concert'; 'full house' describes the audience situation

  • packed house

    more informal, emphasises the crowd's density rather than ticket sales

  • capacity crowd

    more formal; used especially in sports reporting

反義詞
  • empty house

    very rare; more commonly 'sparse audience' or 'half-empty venue'

  • empty seats

    describes the visual of an under-attended event

文法句型

full house + of + number

play to + a full house

用法筆記

Often used in the theatre and live-event industry. Frequently follows verbs like 'announce', 'have', 'report', or 'play to'. Typically refers to a single event rather than a building.

常見錯誤

❌The restaurant had a full house last night.
✅The restaurant was completely full last night.
💡'full house' is specific to ticketed venues like theatres and stadiums, not restaurants or homes.
❌There were full houses in every room.
✅There was a full house in the theatre.
💡'full house' is treated as a singular noun phrase even though 'house' is countable.

2. a poker hand made up of three matching cards and a separate pair — for instance,

2.名詞B2
釋義

a poker hand made up of three matching cards and a separate pair — for instance, three queens and two eights. It ranks between a flush and a four of a kind.

例句

Andrei won the final hand with a full house, beating Justin's flush by a narrow margin.

collocation: win with a full house

A full house has three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank.

definitional: consists of three of a kind and a pair

同義詞
  • full boat

    informal poker slang, synonymous but less common outside the US

  • truck

    very informal poker slang, rarely used in writing

文法句型

a full house + of + [rank] + and + [rank]

用法筆記

Only used in the context of poker or similar card games. When describing the specific ranks, the pattern is 'three [rank] and two [rank]', e.g. 'three kings and two fives'.

常見錯誤

❌I got a full house of four aces.
✅I got a full house
💡three aces and two kings.' — a full house contains exactly three of one rank and two of another, never four of a kind.