poorhouse

American  

[poor-hous] / ˈpʊərˌhaʊs /

noun

plural

poorhouses

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

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poorhouse British  

/ ˈpɔː-, ˈpʊəˌhaʊs /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of poorhouse

First recorded in 1735–45; poor + house

Example Sentences

When Marla Carter visits her mother-in-law at a nursing home in Owensboro, Kentucky, the scene feels more 19th-century poorhouse than modern-day America.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 15, 2023

Elon Musk is not heading to the poorhouse if this thing doesn’t work out.

From Slate • Apr. 25, 2022

In the mid-1800s, the city of Georgetown kept its poorhouse and workhouse in the community, where Guy Mason Recreation Center is now located, near Calvert and 36th streets NW.

From Washington Post • Oct. 11, 2021

Indeed, as with the 19th-century poorhouse, she argues, the shiny new digital one allows us to “manage the individual poor in order to escape our shared responsibility for eradicating poverty.”

From New York Times • May 4, 2018

He reminded me of those aged invalids you see in the poorhouse.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank