Definition of poorhouse
: a place maintained at public expense to house needy or dependent persons
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Recent Examples of poorhouse from the Web
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In 1854, the county opened a poorhouse and farm and gradually added an insane asylum, infirmary and tuberculosis hospital to the property.
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Starting in 1798 as land for the Chester County poorhouse — Pennsylvania’s first — the rolling West Bradford hills eventually became home to the county’s insane asylum, too.
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The only places for illegitimate infants were parish poorhouses, where children often died of neglect.
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This movie idea was his last chance to avoid the poorhouse.
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Congress also asked FEMA to conduct an affordability study to see how the new rules could be administered without leaving people in the poorhouse — or with no house at all.
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Unable to support themselves, the two moved into a poorhouse in Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1943.
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Like all poorhouses and poor farms in the state, it was run by a superintendent, who was responsible for deciding which citizens petitioning for help would be admitted.
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However, that last name — Taxus — could be positively lethal, leading us all eventually to the poorhouse.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'poorhouse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of poorhouse
circa 1579
POORHOUSE Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of poorhouse for English Language Learners
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: a place for poor people to live that is paid for by the taxes, donations, etc., of other people
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