poorhouse

[ poor-hous ]

/ ˈpʊərˌhaʊs /

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noun, plural poor·hous·es

[poor-hou-ziz]. /ˈpʊərˌhaʊ zɪz/.

(formerly) an institution in which paupers were maintained at public expense.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of poorhouse

First recorded in 1735–45; poor + house

Words nearby poorhouse

poor box, poor boy, poor boy sweater, poor-do, poor farm, poorhouse, poorish, Poor Joe, poor law, poorly, poor man's orange

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use poorhouse in a sentence

The closure of poorhouses shifted that burden onto hospitals.
He Wanted to Fix Rural America’s Broken Nursing Homes. Now, Taxpayers May Be on the Hook for $76 Million.|by Max Blau for Georgia Health News|September 22, 2020|ProPublica
For these people, under the older dispensation, there was nothing but the poorhouse, the jail or starvation by the roadside.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
I don't much like to say the poorhouse, where I was took after my folks died, and I hate to say Mrs. Stott's truck-farm.
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
When we arrived at Posen we took up our quarters in the Jewish poorhouse, the master of which was a poor jobbing tailor.
Solomon Maimon: An Autobiography.|Solomon Maimon

But it would mean all the difference between penury and dread of the poorhouse on the one hand and safety on the other to David.
Dominie Dean|Ellis Parker Butler
In a few weeks, they got on so well that they began to take their relations and friends out of that terrible poorhouse.
The College, the Market, and the Court|Caroline H. Dall

British Dictionary definitions for poorhouse

poorhouse

/ (ˈpʊəˌhaʊs, ˈpɔː-) /

noun

(formerly) a publicly maintained institution offering accommodation to the poor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012