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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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However, that last name — Taxus — could be positively lethal, leading us all eventually to the poorhouse.
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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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The forgotten man, who would return in Trump's inaugural address, was downtrodden, haunted, and hurting, a step away from 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
poorhouse
play
noun
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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