workhouse
Americannoun
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a house of correction.
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British. (formerly) a poorhouse in which paupers were given work.
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Obsolete. a workshop.
noun
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(formerly in England) an institution maintained at public expense where able-bodied paupers did unpaid work in return for food and accommodation
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(in the US) a prison for petty offenders serving short sentences at manual labour
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of workhouse
before 1100; Middle English werkhous, Old English weorchūs workshop. See work, house
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.
Charlie has transcended a workhouse childhood to become a person of some culture—his favorite novelist is, ironically enough, that bard of extreme poverty, Charles Dickens.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
That Tomás, who has already survived the Great Hunger as well as a cruel workhouse, isn’t already a lunatic is perhaps less fantastical than the plot itself at times.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
The workhouse closed in 1948 and has since been demolished.
From BBC • Mar. 2, 2025
The answer is simple: It’s a workhouse and is needed,” Mr Loranger said.
From Washington Times • Nov. 29, 2023
This is when they tried to make us feel like the bastards who ran the workhouse in Oliver Twist.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
