houses of correction

A form of house of correction — A kind of residential penitentiary facility, built after the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601), where those who were "unwilling to work", including vagrants and beggars, were set to work.

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Meanings

noun
  1. pluralplural of house of correction
Cite this entry
APA

houses of correction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/houses%20of%20correction

MLA

“houses of correction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/houses%20of%20correction. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “houses of correction,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/houses%20of%20correction.

Source: houses of correction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.