brothel
Americannoun
-
brothels
plural
noun
-
a house or other place where men pay to have sexual intercourse with prostitutes
-
informal any untidy or messy place
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of brothel
First recorded in 1350–1400, for an earlier sense; short for brothel-house “whorehouse”; Middle English brothel “harlot,” originally, “worthless person,” from broth- (past participle stem of brethen, Old English brēothan “to decay, degenerate”) + -el, noun suffix
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.
See Examples For:
He played queens, courtesans, goddesses and brothel madams with a studied grace.
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026
There, the hard-working seven-person cast of “Dark Noon,” which opened on Monday, spends much of the production’s 105 minutes assembling the edifices of westward-creeping American civilization, from home to brothel to church to jail.
From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
He’s penned several children’s books and a novella called “The Legend of Diddley Squatt,” loosely inspired by the life of the late comedian Richard Pryor, who grew up in a brothel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2023
How did you approach the different Louises: the brothel owner, the legit businessman, the centenarian?
From Washington Post ● Nov. 14, 2022
The sept tempted him no more than the brothel; his own gods kept their temples in the wild places, where the weirwoods spread their bone-white branches.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
A South Korean court has ordered Japan to compensate a group of women who were forced to work in military brothels during World War Two.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2023
The Tabor Opera House quickly grabbed the attention of a bustling, rowdy city full of competing theaters, saloons and brothels.
From New York Times ● Aug. 11, 2021
They are likely to discuss issues that have strained relations over generations, including compensation for people forced to work in Japanese firms and military brothels during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule.
From Reuters ● Jul. 18, 2021
He rejected accounts of forced labor as "pure fiction," saying the Japanese army "did not dragoon Korean women to work in its brothels."
From Fox News ● Mar. 8, 2021
Jewish fathers took their daughters to brothels for safe hiding.
From The Jew and American Ideals by John Spargo
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