flophouse

noun

flop·​house ˈfläp-ˌhau̇s How to pronounce flophouse (audio)
: a cheap rooming house or hotel

Examples of flophouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The setting is a dusty town square, bordered on one side by the posh Siete Mares Hotel and on the other by the city’s worst quarter, fronted by the Ritz Men Only, a dangerous flophouse. Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 25 July 2025 After Chili's twin sister, Jellybean, was found dead in a Kansas City flophouse, Chili began a downward spiral and was eventually caught drinking on the job by Brett. Breanne L. Heldman, People.com, 18 July 2025 The place had opened a year and half before on the ground floor of a notorious Bowery flophouse called, with perfect New York irony, the Palace Hotel. Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025 And then there are all of Gov. Healey’s foreign freeloader flophouses. Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 4 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for flophouse

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of flophouse was in 1916

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flophouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flophouse. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on flophouse

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!