whorehouse
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
All three terms refer to an establishment where sex workers receive clients, but they differ sharply in register. 'Brothel' is the neutral, standard term — used in news reports, official documents, and academic writing. 'Whorehouse' is informal and carries a derogatory edge; many people find it offensive, and it rarely appears in formal writing. 'Bordello' has a more literary or historical flavour, often suggesting a luxurious or old-fashioned setting (e.g., in novels about the Wild West or 19th-century Europe). 'House of prostitution' is a formal, explicit phrase typical of legal language or sociological studies. Choose 'brothel' in most everyday writing; reserve 'whorehouse' for quoted speech or deliberately coarse contexts.
Common collocations
Nouns
- ~ owner
- ~ raid
- ~ district
Phrases
- run a ~
- keep a ~
- close down a ~
- operate a ~
Prepositions
- in a ~
- ~ on [street]
Etymology
A compound of 'whore' (from Old English hōre, meaning a prostitute) and 'house', first recorded in the 16th century. The term has always been informal and carries a stronger negative connotation than the older synonym 'brothel' (from Middle English, originally meaning a worthless person).