workshop

American  

[wurk-shop] / ˈwɜrkˌʃɒp /

noun

• workshops
  plural

1. a room, group of rooms, or building in which work, especially mechanical work, is carried on.

2. a seminar, discussion group, or the like, that emphasizes exchange of ideas and the demonstration and application of techniques, skills, etc..

   a theater workshop; an opera workshop.

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verb (used with object)

workshopped, workshopping

1. to experiment with different versions of (a play or other performance), often in a collaborative environment.

   Most comedians workshop their jokes in smaller clubs before adding them to a polished routine.

workshop British  

/ ˈwɜːkˌʃɒp /

noun

1. a room or building in which manufacturing or other forms of manual work are carried on

2. a room in a private dwelling, school, etc, set aside for crafts

3. a group of people engaged in study or work on a creative project or subject

   a music workshop

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verb

1. (tr) to perform (a play) with no costumes, set, or musical accompaniment

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• postworkshop
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• workshops
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of workshop

First recorded in 1555–65; work + shop

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Explanation

A workshop is a place you go to work. If your mother enjoys carpentry, she might have a workshop in the basement where she can build furniture. Workshops are for making and fixing things like wooden furniture, cars, or mysterious inventions. A shorthand way to refer to a workshop is shop, as in the shop class offered in many high schools, which usually meets in a workshop. The noun workshop also means a course or meeting at which a work in progress — often a story, poem, or script — is discussed by a group of writers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

workshop workshops workshopped workshopping

Although he delivered the plan in English, he gave it a German name: Sportwagenschmiede ‘35, which translates loosely as “sports-car workshop ‘35.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The term "artificial intelligence" was born in 1956 at an austere summer workshop at Dartmouth College.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

This year, the bees have produced 150 jars of honey – all of which is done in a workshop on the centre roof.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

Von Arx, an AI safety researcher, was presenting a workshop in the Bay Area.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The teacher, a dark-haired, intense woman, also ran the Creative Writing workshop.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

Saturday's itinerary varies widely depending on the location, from a music festival in Los Angeles and a march to the Supreme Court in Washington, to family-friendly workshops in Chicago and election observer training in Atlanta.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Companies that would never hire a consultant to explain how Virgos negotiate compensation packages request workshops on how Gen Z handles feedback.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The event, which ended Saturday, featured panels and workshops titled “How to build Socially Responsive AI,” “AI in the workplace,” “Can AI Heal Us?” and “Master the Machine.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

We have begun hosting educational workshops promoting organ donation in memory of an alumnus who was killed—and whose organs have been transplanted in five others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

“We could have some wicked cool workshops — writing, film, science, music, consciousness-raising. “

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

With his team, he workshopped lines they hoped would be like a bucket of ice water, including a slogan Carney had used before: “Nostalgia is not a strategy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

In an unusual step, the script was further workshopped and developed with the cast during rehearsals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

People inside the company workshopped how to communicate this week’s retirement in a way that respected users, anticipating some would be upset, the people briefed on the decision said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

Videos appeared to show a man telling demonstrators that the chant had been "workshopped" in Oxford.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2025

When Libby and I workshopped our two-person Fiddler on the Roof, for the private performance we put on for her mom right when she started getting sick, I decided to stage the famous Bottle Dance.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

Reality, having already borrowed the premise, apparently decided to keep workshopping it.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

In conversations with European leaders he’d known as a central banker, Carney was workshopping proposals to deepen ties that were far ahead of most European officials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

A group of bondholders recently met in Washington to present to the world’s top economists and policymakers a proposal they had been workshopping for the past year.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Markwayne Mullin has a brilliantly dumb idea he’s workshopping.

From Slate ● May 30, 2026

You’ll find Amber workshopping her stories at a cafe in Leimert Park, with a sheer, subtle eye shadow that creates a glow around her almond eyes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025

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