Definition of "almshouse" []

• A poorhouse. (noun)
• Chiefly British A home for the poor that is maintained by private charity. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Opened in 1736, the almshouse was a homeless shelter, jail, and workhouse rolled into one."
• "Younger inmates tended to remain for only short periods of time; for them the almshouse was a temporary refuge in times of crisis or unemployment."
• "The almshouse, which is now called by various names, the county home, the county infirmary, etc., ceased to be the repository for all types of delinquents, and for children, and became an institution primarily for the care of the aged and infirm."