The word "housemate" is correct and usable in written English.
It is a noun used to refer to a person living with another in the same residence. For example, "My housemate and I both enjoy watching movies together on the weekends."
Even though mine is the only leotard in the room of 20 mid-20-to-30-something women and one man (my housemate, brought along for encouragement) there's still the same enthusiasm.
I recall one conversation when she pumped me for personal information about a housemate who had recently been released from police detention.
And in this most recent series, housemate Gemma Kinghorn's eviction proved controversial after fans claimed the show had encouraged bullying.
Fellow 2014 housemate Jake Rich made a video about cyberbullying to promote a short film festival on the issue.
My housemate is younger than me and probably dreading the thought of me lording over the couch and TV remote.
However, I have discovered that such a luxury is rare among students and unless a housemate is well-versed in the intricacies of indoor plumbing, cold showers will be an unfortunate fact of life.
In Australia, the 2006 series of Big Brother sparked its own outrage after two male housemates allegedly held down a female housemate while one attempted to force his genitals into her face.
I glance at my housemate as the intro of New Order's Blue Monday pounds from the stereo like a siren call – "this is insane", he mouths.
And speaking of that – being a mass murder's hardly a great quality in a housemate, but Nina's already aware of who he is and what he's done in the past surely?
One housemate designed "pit-stops" out of old shelves and cushions to make Soutar's journeys from room to room easier.
When our kettle packed in, my housemate was reduced to using the water she had boiled her eggs in to make tea - not exactly what Twinings meant by English Breakfast.
