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workhouse

work·house

workhouse

 
pronunciation:
wuhrk haUs
part of speech: noun
definition 1: an institution that houses and feeds the poor but requires them to do labor on site.
Making rope was a common, and painful, form of work in the nineteenth century workhouse.
similar words:
almshouse, poorhouse
definition 2: a U.S. prison for minor offenders serving short sentences, who are employed at manual labor while confined; house of correction.
He was convicted for petty theft and sent to the workhouse.