brothel

noun

broth·​el ˈbrä-thəl  ˈbrȯ- 

 also  -t͟həl

plural brothels

: a business establishment where sex workers are available for hire

For recreation, there were bars, after-hours joints, pool halls, strip joints, brothels, and transient motels.

—Darlene Nall

Elizaveta is happy to become the madam of a high-class brothel.

—Jonathan Fast

In the brutal red-light district of Chicago, at the dawn of the 20th century, most brothels emphasized "efficiency instead of fantasy."

—Ada Calhoun

Synonyms

• bagnio
• bawdy house
• bordello
• cathouse
• disorderly house
• sporting house
• stew
• whorehouse

Examples of brothel in a Sentence

the district is infamous for its brothels and drug dealers

Recent Examples on the Web

De facto prostitution zones and pop-up brothels would depress real estate values and increase the strain on our overburdened city already grappling with affordability and quality-of-life issues. —Sonia Ossorio, New York Daily News, 21 June 2025

One of the houses was secretly operating as a brothel. —Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 16 June 2025

This does not have to mean growing out your hair, biking to Mardi Gras or stopping at a brothel along the way. —Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 5 May 2025

The wages enrich the restaurants, casinos and brothels that make a killing from captive employees who are often confined to fortified compounds. —Selam Gebrekidan, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, worthless fellow, prostitute, from brothen, past participle of brethen to waste away, go to ruin, from Old English brēothan to waste away; akin to Old English brēotan to break — more at brittle

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined above