poorhouse
/ˈpʊrhaʊs/
noun
- A place where very poor people were sent to live and work in the past, often in harsh conditions.
- The old building on the hill was once a poorhouse for the town's destitute residents.
- In the 1800s, many families feared ending up in the poorhouse if they could not pay their debts.
- Historical records show that the poorhouse housed over a hundred people during the winter of 1842.
- A situation or condition of extreme poverty.
- He spent all his savings on a bad investment and nearly landed in the poorhouse.
- After the factory closed, the family was on the brink of the poorhouse.
- The economic crisis pushed many small farmers toward the poorhouse.