bridewell
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of bridewell
First recorded in 1545–55; after a prison that formerly stood near the church of St. Bride in London
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.
After two weeks in the bridewell, Novelist Yehling changed his literary plans: "I think I'll join the Army and try to write a better book than Tolstoi's War and Peace."
From Time Magazine Archive
Habeas corpuses have been heard; men have been sent to the penitentiary and others to the bridewell and some to the jail.
From The Crime of the Century or, The Assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin by Hunt, Henry M.
A portly watchman usually sat on a stool outside the door day and night; but on this particular occasion, his services being required elsewhere, the bridewell had been left to guard itself.
From The Story of a Bad Boy by Aldrich, Thomas Bailey
He returned to the county bridewell for a few days, and then was shifted to the castellated building.
From It Is Never Too Late to Mend by Reade, Charles
The cove was hued in the naskin; the rogue was soundly lashed in bridewell.
From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Grose, Francis
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.
