workhouse
noun
work·house
ˈwərk-ˌhau̇s 
1
British
: poorhouse
2
: a house of correction for persons guilty of minor law violations
Examples of workhouse in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Murphy’s latest project, Small Things Like These, depicting the horrors of Ireland’s church’s abusive workhouses for unwed mothers, is set for a Nov. 1 release in the U.K., and Nov. 8 in the U.S.
—
Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Sep. 2024
Banning Christmas Dinner Poor laws passed in Great Britain in the 1830s reversed a centuries-old tradition to forbid workhouses from serving roast beef and plum pudding at Christmas.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
Wins don’t mean as much in today’s era of analytics and deep bullpens, but the workhouse Cole is a throwback who led the AL with 209 innings last year — his sixth season with at least 200.
—Peter Sblendorio, Hartford Courant, 9 Mar. 2024
The former should be supported, it was thought, but the latter had to be punished (say, by being put in a workhouse) or simply abandoned to their fate.
—Pierre Rosanvallon, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015
See all Example Sentences for workhouse 
Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Sep. 2024
Banning Christmas Dinner Poor laws passed in Great Britain in the 1830s reversed a centuries-old tradition to forbid workhouses from serving roast beef and plum pudding at Christmas.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
Wins don’t mean as much in today’s era of analytics and deep bullpens, but the workhouse Cole is a throwback who led the AL with 209 innings last year — his sixth season with at least 200.
—Peter Sblendorio, Hartford Courant, 9 Mar. 2024
The former should be supported, it was thought, but the latter had to be punished (say, by being put in a workhouse) or simply abandoned to their fate.
—Pierre Rosanvallon, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015
See all Example Sentences for workhouse
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'workhouse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near workhouse
Cite this Entry
“Workhouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workhouse. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
workhouse
noun
work·house
ˈwərk-ˌhau̇s
1
British
: poorhouse
2
: a place where persons who have committed minor wrongdoings are kept
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share