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sweatshop — a factory or workshop where workers are employed for long hours at low wages under unhealthy conditions

Part of speech: NOUN

Definition: a factory or workshop where workers are employed for long hours at low wages under unhealthy conditions

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈswetʃɑːp/

Example Sentences

  • The company promised to stop using sweatshops after the scandal broke.
  • My grandmother's sewing circle produces more than most sweatshops, but with tea breaks!
  • The documentary exposed the terrible working conditions in textile sweatshops.

sweatshop

NOUN

[/ˈswetʃɑːp/]

a factory or workshop where workers are employed for long hours at low wages under unhealthy conditions

Workers crammed in a sweatshop sew shirts under dim lights for tiny pay.
💡 Concept

Workers crammed in a sweatshop sew shirts under dim lights for tiny pay.

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🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈswetʃɑːp/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈswetʃɒp/

🌳Etymology

Rootsweat
Suffix-shop

Origin

The term 'sweatshop' first emerged in 1892 as a compound word combining 'sweat' and 'shop'. It was coined to describe factories and workshops where laborers worked under harsh, exploitative conditions that caused them to toil strenuously.

Breakdown

sweat (perspiration; hard labor) + shop (workplace; factory) = a place where workers labor intensively under poor conditions.

🎵Rhyme

workshop
pet shop
coffee shop

🔗Collocations

sweatshop labor
operate a sweatshop
sweatshop conditions
shut down sweatshops
sweatshop workers
anti-sweatshop movement

📝Examples

“The company promised to stop using sweatshops after the scandal broke.”

😄 Fun example

“My grandmother's sewing circle produces more than most sweatshops, but with tea breaks!”

“The documentary exposed the terrible working conditions in textile sweatshops.”

😄 Fun example

“Some students joked that their school library during finals week was like a sweatshop for studying.”

📚Related Words

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