brothel

noun

broth·​el ˈbrä-thəl  ˈbrȯ- 

 also  -t͟həl

plural brothels

: a business establishment where sex workers are available for hire

For recreation, there were bars, after-hours joints, pool halls, strip joints, brothels, and transient motels.

—Darlene Nall

Elizaveta is happy to become the madam of a high-class brothel.

—Jonathan Fast

In the brutal red-light district of Chicago, at the dawn of the 20th century, most brothels emphasized "efficiency instead of fantasy."

—Ada Calhoun

Synonyms

• bagnio
• bawdy house
• bordello
• cathouse
• disorderly house
• sporting house
• stew
• whorehouse

Examples of brothel in a Sentence

the district is infamous for its brothels and drug dealers

Recent Examples on the Web

In that case, police accused a man and a woman with operating six brothels around the Bay Area. —Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2024

Sealed off from the rest of the building after someone opened up a brothel, the apparently lesser units were largely excluded from the hubbub these past few years. —Tom Smyth, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2024

Richard Pryor talks about growing up in a brothel and having to sit there and then watch men come in and out of his mother’s room. —Demetrius Patterson, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2024

One of them was seen leaving the Dougherty Road brothel with Liu in 2017. —Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, worthless fellow, prostitute, from brothen, past participle of brethen to waste away, go to ruin, from Old English brēothan to waste away; akin to Old English brēotan to break — more at brittle

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined above