1
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
specifically
: such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (such as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes compare prison
2
: confinement in a jail
sentenced to jail
Examples of jail in a Sentence
Noun
He was locked up in the county jail.
He was arrested and sent to jail.
He went to jail for his crimes.
He just got out of jail a few weeks ago.
He was kept in jail overnight.
Verb
threatened to jail the punks if they so much as jaywalked
Recent Examples on the Web
Juan Cordoba, Arkansas Online, 12 Jan. 2026
He was freed on a $500,000 bond but was required to report to jail every weekend.
—CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 12 Jan. 2026
Symbolic political prisoner releases bring hope The Chavismo movement has been accused of jailing political prisoners for decades and holding them in the infamous Helicoide prison, controlled by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN).
—Flora Charner, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for jail
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Noun
Some of those people have been arrested directly by ICE agents while others have been arrested by other law enforcement agencies, placed on immigration holds within county jails and then arrested by ICE while being held.
—Juan Cordoba, Arkansas Online, 12 Jan. 2026
He was freed on a $500,000 bond but was required to report to jail every weekend.
—CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
Verb
Kaupa had a first appearance on the charges Monday and remained jailed on $5 million bail.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 12 Jan. 2026
Symbolic political prisoner releases bring hope The Chavismo movement has been accused of jailing political prisoners for decades and holding them in the infamous Helicoide prison, controlled by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN).
—Flora Charner, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for jail
Cite this Entry
“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jail. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
jail
noun
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
specifically
: such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes compare house of correction, house of detention, lockup, penitentiary, prison
jail
transitive verb
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