flophouse
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
A cheap hotel or boarding house where many people sleep in large rooms.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
In one of [Cincinnati’s] slum districts stands the Silver Moon, a “flop house” (i.e., a house where the occupants are “flopped” out of their hanging bunks by letting down the ropes).
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “flophouse” mean?
A cheap hotel or boarding house where many people sleep in large rooms.
Is “flophouse” formal or informal?
flophouse is generally slang.