workshop

American  

[wurk-shop] / ˈwɜrkˌʃɒp /

noun

• workshops
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• postworkshop
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• workshops
  plural

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

See Examples For:

workshop workshops workshopped workshopping

In 2017, an editor at Blue Magazine, the in-flight magazine of Aegean Airlines, stumbled upon her workshop and featured her work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

That’s the latest idea to emerge from the mad scientists’ workshop also known as academia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Adrien Michelet, 40, a mechanic, stands at the site of his workshop in Le Porg.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

Across the courtyard in another workshop a handful of PoWs are making artificial Christmas trees, gaudy baubles strung from their machines.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

“We found one like this in Rome, in the workshop of Archimedes. If I can make it work, maybe I can find out what’s going on with my friends.”

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

In its first few months, the park has hosted intimate jazz shows, Kemetic yoga classes, art workshops and album listening parties where artists like Childish Gambino and Vince Staples have performed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

The organisers have also set up a "nomadic fair" at the site, where visitors can tuck into samsas –- savoury meat-filled pastries typical of Central Asia -- or take part in yurt-building workshops.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

“I used to call my presentations ‘Know Your Rights’ workshops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

"And it may come relatively quickly. In workshops, including stamping, welding, and painting, we've basically achieved 100% automation."

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

In other matters they were, as a rule, generous and not greedy, but contented and moderate, so that estates, farms, workshops, and small trades tended to remain unchanged for generations.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Under Warsh’s predecessor, Jerome Powell, the two vice chairs helped build support for a policy proposal they workshopped ahead of the meeting, giving markets a read on their thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

The musical will be further workshopped later this year, with the team aiming for the first public performances in 2027.

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026

So Idle workshopped it — did the algebra, as he described it — and wound up with a new, zingier joke he preferred.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026

People inside the company workshopped how to communicate this week’s retirement in a way that respected users, anticipating some would be upset, the people briefed on the decision said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

In the professional theater world, you would say they have been workshopped.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

A group of bondholders recently met in Washington to present to the world’s top economists and policymakers a proposal they had been workshopping for the past year.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Anthropic’s partner, a startup called Andon Labs that is workshopping agentic businesses, built the hardware and software integration, and handled the entire setup.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

Indeed, the administration is already workshopping a version of this argument, noting in Khalil’s case that their enforcement actions are entitled to a “presumption of regularity” by the courts.

From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2025

“There’s cinnamon swirl, cinnamon raisin. And this one I’ve been workshopping for the girls because they love everything rainbow — funfetti sourdough.”

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2025

What did you learn about it from that reading, and since then by workshopping it all over the country?

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2025

Related Words

• factory
• laboratory
• mill
• plant
• studio