disorderly house
Americannoun
-
a house of prostitution; brothel.
-
a gambling place.
noun
Etymology
Origin of disorderly house
First recorded in 1800–10
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.
On Jan. 1, 1896, William Dorsey Swann was charged with keeping a disorderly house at 1504 L St. NW.
From Washington Post • Mar. 20, 2023
A young man, a Lehigh University student, eventually stepped forward and Lamana cited him for violating the city’s disorderly house ordinance.
From Washington Times • May 13, 2017
In 1901, a reform group called the Committee of Fifteen raided Alderman Fleck’s establishment and charged him with maintaining a disorderly house.
From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2010
The woman was found guilty of running a disorderly house, given three years imprisonment, also fined $1,000.
From Time Magazine Archive
Justice.—'How do you know that he keeps a disorderly house, captain?'
From The Secrets of the Great City by McCabe, James Dabney
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.
