Noun

1. Any small house or structure or enclosure used to house a dog.
   • 1902, Thomas Dixon, The Leopard's Spots: A Romance of the White Man's Burden--1865-1900, page 61

     "But, honey, whar yo' ole man gwine ter sleep?" "Dey's straw in de barn, en pine shatters in de doghouse!" she shouted, slamming the window.

2. A structure of small size, similar to that of a dog-house, but offering useful shelter for a human.
   • 1840, James Holman, Travels in Madeira, Sierra Leone, Teneriffe, St. Jago, Cape Coast, Fernando ..., page 411

     This berth of mine was commonly called a doghouse (a box about six feet long, four high, and two broad,) containing a mattress fitted about 18 inches from the deck.

   • p. 1927, United States Code Annotated

     [...] so as to render railroad liable for death of brakeman falling from tender, notwithstanding construction of doghouse on top of tender for brakeman's use.

   • 1958, in Rudder, Page 33

     The yacht is well equipped and has accommodations for six people. A teak doghouse over the forward part of the cockpit affords [....]

   • 2005, Alan Cockrell, Drilling Ahead: The Quest for Oil in the Deep South, 1945-2005, page 276

     A rotary rig could have drilled that much in a day. Oscar had been here a month. He kept a careful log on the doghouse wall [....]

3. Mechanically, an equipment cover with an opening, with a shape resembling a doghouse.
4. A difficult or demoralizing situation.
   • 1981, Charles Snelling, Nomenclature of Ships, Naval Sea Systems Command publication

     During the slave trade, slaves were packed into every available niche aboard the slave ships, including the officers' cabins. The officers slept on deck in semi-cylindrical boxes, nicknamed "dog houses." The term "in the dog house" grew to describe being in a difficult situation due to the extreme discomfort of sleeping in these boxes.