Definition

Noun: A very inexpensive and typically low-quality place providing temporary accommodation, often characterized by basic facilities, shared spaces, and a clientele of people with very little money.

Usage

The word "dosshouse" is a noun. It is used to refer to a specific type of budget accommodation. It carries connotations of being extremely cheap, run-down, and intended for short-term stays by the destitute or transient. It is an informal, somewhat dated term.

Examples

• After losing his job, he could only afford a bed in a dosshouse.
• The charity aimed to provide alternatives to the grim city dosshouses.
• Victorian London had many dosshouses catering to the poor.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used metaphorically to describe any place that is messy, overcrowded, or of very poor quality.
  • "After the party, his apartment looked like a complete dosshouse."

Variants and Related Words

• Doss (verb, informal): To sleep in a cheap or makeshift bed; to stay in a dosshouse.
  • "He dossed down on a friend's floor for the night."
• Dosser (noun, informal): A person who lives in or frequents dosshouses.

Synonyms

• Flophouse (chiefly US)
• Fleabag hotel (informal)
• Flop (informal)
• Doss-house (alternative spelling)
• Common lodging house (dated)

Antonyms

• Hotel
• Boarding house
• Hostel (though hostels can be cheap, they lack the same negative connotation)
• Inn

Noun

1. a cheap lodging house