sweatshop
noun
sweat·shop
ˈswet-ˌshäp 
: a shop or factory in which employees work for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions
Examples of sweatshop in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Depressingly, Lorenz seems to believe that recording videos that hawk clothes made in an Indonesian sweatshop fulfills some kind of liberatory ideal.
—
Alexander Nazaryan, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2023
Fires, as the name suggests, were a constant threat to workers in the crowded sweatshops, printing plants and factory lofts stacked within its 19th-century buildings.
—Zoë Lescaze, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023
The workers sued the companies that contracted with the sweatshop, who agreed to pay more than $3.7 million to 150 El Monte workers.
—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 22 Sep. 2023
Clinton and another former sweatshop employee, Nantha Jaknang, also spoke onstage about their experiences in the compound in the early ‘90s.
—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 22 Sep. 2023
Back then, East Williamsburg was in the midst of massive changes—my apartment building had been an old sweatshop only months before, and there were new buildings going up on every corner.
—Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
The company is named for his grandfather, the son of a Lithuanian sweatshop worker, who built a family concern that sold sand, gravel, lime and coal into a Chicago business empire worth billions.
—Daniel E. Slotnik, New York Times, 27 June 2023
Charney set up factories in Los Angeles and gave workers who would otherwise find employment in sweatshops a rosier alternative.
—Rachel Tashjian, Washington Post, 2 Aug. 2023
But, in their determination to prepare students for employment, many schools, like other institutions at the time, came to resemble sweatshops, making blind children spin wool and grind tobacco for subminimum wages.
—Andrew Leland, The New Yorker, 8 July 2023
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Alexander Nazaryan, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2023
Fires, as the name suggests, were a constant threat to workers in the crowded sweatshops, printing plants and factory lofts stacked within its 19th-century buildings.
—Zoë Lescaze, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023
The workers sued the companies that contracted with the sweatshop, who agreed to pay more than $3.7 million to 150 El Monte workers.
—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 22 Sep. 2023
Clinton and another former sweatshop employee, Nantha Jaknang, also spoke onstage about their experiences in the compound in the early ‘90s.
—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 22 Sep. 2023
Back then, East Williamsburg was in the midst of massive changes—my apartment building had been an old sweatshop only months before, and there were new buildings going up on every corner.
—Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
The company is named for his grandfather, the son of a Lithuanian sweatshop worker, who built a family concern that sold sand, gravel, lime and coal into a Chicago business empire worth billions.
—Daniel E. Slotnik, New York Times, 27 June 2023
Charney set up factories in Los Angeles and gave workers who would otherwise find employment in sweatshops a rosier alternative.
—Rachel Tashjian, Washington Post, 2 Aug. 2023
But, in their determination to prepare students for employment, many schools, like other institutions at the time, came to resemble sweatshops, making blind children spin wool and grind tobacco for subminimum wages.
—Andrew Leland, The New Yorker, 8 July 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sweatshop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1884, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near sweatshop
Cite this Entry
“Sweatshop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweatshop. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
sweatshop
noun
sweat·shop
-ˌshäp
: a shop or factory in which employees work long hours at low wages under unhealthy conditions
More from Merriam-Webster on sweatshop
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sweatshop
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sweatshop
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