workhouse Meaning, Definition & Usage

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

WordNet

Work"house` noun
Etymology
AS. weorchs.
Wordforms
plural Workhouses
Definitions
  1. A house where any manufacture is carried on; a workshop.
  2. A house in which idle and vicious persons are confined to labor.
  3. A house where the town poor are maintained at public expense, and provided with labor; a poorhouse.

Webster 1913