bum factory

noun

An establishment that sells alcoholic drinks, such as a saloon or liquor store.

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Meanings

nounbum factory (plural bum factories)

plural bum factories

  1. USdatedinformalAn establishment that sells alcoholic drinks, such as a saloon or liquor store.
  2. USdatedinformalA cheap place for lodging, such as a hostel or a charitable mission house; flophouse.

Origin

From bum (“tramp, vagrant”) + factory, the idea being that the existence of such establishments supposedly encourages people to become vagrants.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bum factory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bum%20factory

MLA

“bum factory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bum%20factory. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bum factory,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bum%20factory.

Source: bum factory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.