Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An establishment maintained at public expense as housing for the homeless.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An establishment in which persons receiving public charity are lodged and cared for; an almshouse.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A dwelling for a number of paupers maintained at public expense; an almshouse; a workhouse.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
charitable institution wherepoor orhomeless people are lodged - noun A
workhouse
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an establishment maintained at public expense in order to provide housing for the poor and homeless
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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He said that the creditors had held a protracted meeting, and there was one irritating old party who kept suggesting that the poorhouse was the inevitable solution; but finally arrangements were made by which our old friend can keep his shop as long as he lives.
White Ashes Alden Charles Noble
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To conceal the fact that the poorhouse was a miserable place to stay would have been an impossibility.
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In the building that was known as the poorhouse proper was the main office.
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"You all speak as if the poorhouse was a gaol," the doctor said testily.
The Little Minister 1898
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"The poorhouse is a sad place for a sick and helpless child," answered one.
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As a result there is an increasing sense of alienation from my erstwhile compadres, such as Tommy Thompson, who are doomed to the academic "poorhouse" of the secondary modern, where the thresholds for achievement and opportunity are depressingly low.
Broken Music, A Memoir Sting 2003
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If we find that many people are living without the comforts they need and in conditions inimical to health and morality, we can at least take comfort in the fact that fewer go to the "poorhouse" than used to be found there when all sorts of dependents were sent to that one institution.
The Family and it's Members Anna Garlin Spencer
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Among all these outcries, only that one concerning the "poorhouse" stung the ears of the boy at bay.
The Boys of Columbia High on the Gridiron : or, the Struggle for the Silver Cup Graham B Forbes
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With several other students and two or three young ladies of the city we held services at the "poorhouse" every Sunday.
The Autobiography of a Journalist, Volume I William James Stillman 1864
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Fred ♪ ♫ ♪ says: freeman, do you support people who lower taxes for the rich and de-regulate us into the poorhouse?
Think Progress » VIDEO: The GOP’s Solution To Everything — Let’s ‘Start Over’ 2010
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