Definition

Noun: 1. A public institution for the poor, especially in historical Britain, where those unable to support themselves were housed and required to do work in return for food and shelter. This meaning emphasizes the historical social welfare (or punitive) system for the destitute. 2. A jail or penal institution where minor offenders are confined and made to perform hard labor. This meaning, more common in American English, refers to a place of detention and compulsory work.

Usage and Examples

• Historical Poorhouse:
  • In 19th-century England, families who could not pay their debts sometimes ended up in the workhouse.
  • The conditions in the Victorian workhouse were often deliberately harsh to discourage people from seeking help.
• Penal Institution:
  • The judge sentenced the petty criminals to six months in the county workhouse.
  • The old workhouse has been converted into a museum about the local justice system.

Advanced Usage

• "The workhouse test": A historical principle stating that conditions inside a workhouse should be less desirable than the lowest standard of living available outside, to ensure only the truly desperate would enter.
  • The "workhouse test" was a central, controversial feature of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.

Variants and Related Words

• Poorhouse (n): A synonym for the first meaning (a place for housing paupers at public expense).
• Penitentiary (n): A prison for serious criminals, which is a more severe institution than a workhouse.
• House of correction (n): A historical term for a jail where inmates were forced to work, similar to the second meaning of "workhouse".

Synonyms

• Almshouse: (For meaning 1) A house founded by charity for the poor, often with less punitive connotations than a workhouse.
• Bridewell: (For meaning 2) A historical term for a prison or reform school.
• Labor camp: (For meaning 2) A place where prisoners are forced to perform hard labor.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "To be workhouse material": (Historical, informal) A derogatory phrase suggesting someone is so poor or destitute that they are likely to end up in a workhouse.
  • The cruel landlord said the unemployed farmer was "workhouse material."

Noun

1. a county jail that holds prisoners for periods up to 18 months
2. a poorhouse where able-bodied poor are compelled to labor