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

But he looks back to his childhood in New Orleans, where he now teaches history at Tulane, and recalls, “We had a workshop. We fixed cars. We fixed TV sets. We made ham radios together.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2023

"Maintenance engineering is all about managing people, managing the workshop. I do sometimes get under a bus, get oily, but only to see what a problem is. That's a small part of my job."

From BBC • Nov. 18, 2021

“I put it on either if I’m out or if I’m in a workshop. It has got a heat pad round the back where your kidneys are.”

From The Guardian • Sep. 30, 2020

“That day, my dad was in a good mood. He gave us food. He went to the workshop. He gave money to his workers,” he said.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 27, 2019

“This container is designed to keep the agent cold and under pressure. Be mindful while it remains in the workshop. Avoid excessive heat in its immediate vicinity.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

• factory
• laboratory
• mill
• plant
• studio