workshop

American  

[wurk-shop] / ˈwɜrkˌʃɒp /

noun

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.

---

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

---

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• postworkshop
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of workshop

First recorded in 1555–65; work + shop

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

Carter’s has appointed longtime Build-A-Bear Workshop chief Sharon Price John to lead the company as its new chief executive, effective mid-June.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

“While we did not want to end a partnership that has spanned 45 years, we have regrettably determined that the termination of our agreement is the only path forward,” Sesame Workshop said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

The artwork has now moved on long-term loan to the Ashmolean Museum, where it is attributed as Quentin Massijs and Workshop.

From BBC • Dec. 8, 2025

These findings were presented this week at Europe’s first Space Agriculture Workshop.

From Salon • Sep. 29, 2025

She said a local gallery in Rochester, called the Visual Studies Workshop, had been showing photography from genocides around the world, and perhaps we could do an exhibit there.

From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

Related Words

• factory
• laboratory
• mill
• plant
• studio