Definition of jailbirdnext
as in prisoner
a person convicted as a criminal and serving a prison sentence had spent most of his sorry life as a jailbird in hoosegows across the South

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of jailbird And these seven crooked cops are just the tip of the MSP jailbird iceberg. Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 17 Jan. 2026 At no point has the jailbird shown contrition for her crimes. Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 1 Dec. 2025 Her jumpsuit is a couture twist on the cartoonish striped getup of a jailbird. Jemal Polson, CNN Money, 8 May 2025 Becomes a jailbird at a high-security zoo after he’s caught, with the newest Wallace & Gromit film, Vengeance Most Fowl, finding Feathers, all these years later, hell-bent on getting even with the duo who locked him up. Devon Ivie, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2025 Twenty years later, an actress named Selma Vaz Dias, who wanted to dramatize Good Morning, Midnight on the radio, found her living in poverty and obscurity in the English countryside with a third husband who also ended an embezzler and a jailbird. Vivian Gornick, The New Republic, 6 Jan. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jailbird
Noun
  • Aside from a prisoner exchange, little, if any, progress was made in the talks.
    Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 12 Feb. 2026
  • Trilateral talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine were held in Abu Dhabi in early February, where the sides met twice but emerged with only a limited breakthrough — agreeing to a 314-person prisoner exchange, the first such swap in five months.
    Ashley Carnahan, FOXNews.com, 11 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Most of the escapees were caught in the weeks after, and since then, multiple people have been charged with helping the inmates escape or stay on the run.
    Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 10 Feb. 2026
  • An investigation is underway by the coroner's office after an inmate at Sacramento County Jail had an apparent seizure and died over the weekend.
    Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • The story is a post-apocalyptic tale in which a convict, played by Fischbach, sails an ocean of blood in a submarine in order to search for resources and discovers increasingly terrifying secrets.
    William Earl, Variety, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Johnny Cash played Folsom Prison when respectable artists wouldn’t go near convicts.
    Richard P. Weigand, Rolling Stone, 30 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Customers who remember the Carmona’s Food Network appearance, when Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featured his mole French fries, might be interested in Milagro’s flautas con mole ($16), an upscale riff on the Fieri fave.
    Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas Morning News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Assignments on the First Amendment, the history and effects of peaceful protests or classroom debates on the pros and cons of ICE would all be more meaningful topics.
    Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Jailbird.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jailbird. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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