almshouse
Americannoun
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a house endowed by private charity for the reception and support of the aged or infirm poor.
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(formerly) a poorhouse.
noun
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history a privately supported house offering accommodation to the aged or needy
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another name for poorhouse
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of almshouse
First recorded in 1350–1400, almshouse is from Middle English almes hous. See alms, house
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The painting, depicting five miracles of Christ, reportedly survived religious purges by being hidden at the almshouse for hundreds of years, Sotheby's said.
From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025
It's their own wrong thought that's led them to the almshouse.
From Salon • May 26, 2025
Over the decades, Hart Island has been the site of city jails, an almshouse, an insane asylum for women, a “reformatory for vicious boys” and a drug rehabilitation facility.
From New York Times • Apr. 29, 2020
“Inmates of the crumbling municipal almshouse on Memorial Drive will be evacuated without delay to facilitate the shutdown of the 150-year-old structure by Dec. 31,” reported The Salem News on Nov. 28, 1953.
From Washington Times • Nov. 26, 2019
The city almshouse on Spruce Street was jammed with over three hundred paupers, while private institutions, such as the Friends’ Alms House, were also filled to capacity.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
