From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishworkfarework‧fare /ˈwɜːkfeə $ ˈwɜːrkfer/ noun [uncountable] PEWa system in which unemployed people have to work before they are given money for food, rent etc by the government
Examples from the Corpus
workfare• Mr Lamont can forget about workfare or any other wheezes the Treasury may have dreamt up.• Similarly, workfare might expose people to the stigma and frequent humiliations that are damaging to health.• Whether workfare would provide other factors they identified is less certain.From Longman Business Dictionaryworkfarework‧fare /ˈwɜːkfeəˈwɜːrkfer/ noun [uncountable] especially American English a principle, policy, or system of requiring people who are unemployed to work or train before they are allowed to receive WELFARE (=money from the government)The trend toward workfare is well established in Europe.A small state workfare program began a decade ago. → compare welfare-to-workOrigin workfare (1900-2000) work + -fare (as in welfare) 