workhouse

American  

[wurk-hous] / ˈwɜrkˌhaʊs /

noun

plural

workhouses

1. a house of correction.

2. British. (formerly) a poorhouse in which paupers were given work.

3. Obsolete. a workshop.

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workhouse British  

/ ˈwɜːkˌhaʊs /

noun

1. (formerly in England) an institution maintained at public expense where able-bodied paupers did unpaid work in return for food and accommodation

2. (in the US) a prison for petty offenders serving short sentences at manual labour

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Etymology

Origin of workhouse

before 1100; Middle English werkhous, Old English weorchūs workshop. See work, house

Example Sentences

He liked the ending too, when Oliver was adopted by a rich man who turned out to be his father’s friend, and Mr. Bumble ended up in the workhouse.

From Literature

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

Since our return from Jenkintown, I was working harder than ever to stay on Aunt Kitty’s good side and avoid the orphan house, the workhouse, or any other living arrangement that meant sending me away.

From Literature

It reminds one of how Charles Dickens, in response to Britain’s 19th-century Poor Law, an amendment to earlier poor laws, that required the poor to live in purposely unpleasant workhouses, wrote “Oliver Twist.”

From Salon

In Northern Ireland, there were also three Magdalene Laundries – in effect, workhouses where women and girls were made to carry out demanding duties.

From BBC