workhouse
|work-house|
🇺🇸
/ˈwɝːkˌhaʊs/
🇬🇧
/ˈwɜːk.haʊs/
an institution where people are made to work as a condition of support or punishment
Etymology
'workhouse' originates from English, specifically the compound of 'work' and 'house', where 'work' meant 'labor' and 'house' meant 'dwelling/building.'
'workhouse' developed in Early Modern English from the Middle English words 'werk' and 'hous' (from Old English 'weorc' and 'hūs') combined as a compound, and eventually became the modern English word 'workhouse'.
Initially, it meant 'a house where work is done (a workshop or manufactory)', but over time it evolved into its current meanings of 'an institution for the poor requiring labor' and, regionally, 'a penal institution with compulsory labor'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a public institution (especially in historical Britain) where the poor were housed and required to work in return for basic relief under the Poor Laws.
The novel begins with a child born in a workhouse.
Synonyms
Noun 2
a penal institution for minor offenders where sentences include compulsory labor, especially in some American cities and counties.
After the trial, he was sent to the workhouse for 90 days.
Synonyms
Noun 3
archaic: a workshop or factory; a place where goods are manufactured.
The town's first workhouse produced woolen cloth.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/10 13:21