Standard Lemma guide

whorehouse

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: HH AO1 R HH AW2 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Brothel.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: vulgar

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a building where prostitutes are available

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: brothel, bordello, bagnio, house of prostitution, house of ill repute, bawdyhouse, cathouse, sporting house

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: building, edifice

Narrower terms: massage parlor

History

Etymology

From Middle English horehous, equivalent to whore + house. Cognate with Dutch hoerenhuis (“whorehouse”), German Hurenhaus (“whorehouse”), Danish horehus (“whorehouse”), Swedish horhus (“whorehouse”), Icelandic hóruhús (“whorehouse; brothel”).