workshop

American  

[wurk-shop] / ˈwɜrkˌʃɒp /

noun

1. a room, group of rooms, or building in which work, especially mechanical work, is carried on.

2. a seminar, discussion group, or the like, that emphasizes exchange of ideas and the demonstration and application of techniques, skills, etc..

   a theater workshop; an opera workshop.

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verb (used with object)

workshopped, workshopping

1. to experiment with different versions of (a play or other performance), often in a collaborative environment.

   Most comedians workshop their jokes in smaller clubs before adding them to a polished routine.

workshop British  

/ ˈwɜːkˌʃɒp /

noun

1. a room or building in which manufacturing or other forms of manual work are carried on

2. a room in a private dwelling, school, etc, set aside for crafts

3. a group of people engaged in study or work on a creative project or subject

   a music workshop

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verb

1. (tr) to perform (a play) with no costumes, set, or musical accompaniment

Other Word Forms

• postworkshop
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of workshop

First recorded in 1555–65; work + shop

Explanation

A workshop is a place you go to work. If your mother enjoys carpentry, she might have a workshop in the basement where she can build furniture. Workshops are for making and fixing things like wooden furniture, cars, or mysterious inventions. A shorthand way to refer to a workshop is shop, as in the shop class offered in many high schools, which usually meets in a workshop. The noun workshop also means a course or meeting at which a work in progress — often a story, poem, or script — is discussed by a group of writers.

Example Sentences

Take a woodworker from the 19th century and put him in a modern workshop and what would he notice?

From BBC • May 11, 2026

By showing up to this workshop, she says, we are “freaking awesome parents.”

From Slate • May 10, 2026

She recently had performance psychologist Michael Gervais, known for his work with Microsoft and the Seattle Seahawks, run a workshop for about 170 top WPP leaders to rebuild executives’ confidence and agency morale.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

As rain fell outside, the charismatic Gianni Basso gave us a tour of his old-school stationer’s workshop and adjoining printmaking museum.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026

She found a small workshop opposite the empty stalls.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

Related Words

• factory
• laboratory
• mill
• plant
• studio