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Noun: workhouse  'wurk`haws
Usage: UK, US
  1. [US] A county jail that holds prisoners for periods up to 18 months
     
  2. [UK, archaic] A poorhouse where able-bodied poor are compelled to labor

Derived forms: workhouses

Type of: calaboose [Austral], clink, gaol [Brit], jail, jailhouse, pokey, poky, poorhouse, prison, slammer

Encyclopedia: Workhouse