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
Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Likewise, Danielle Cooney of Live Free Indiana dedicated her speech to railing against Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal for housing ICE detainees at the county jail.
—Tony Cook, IndyStar, 18 Oct. 2025
Ben Smith, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Five other members of the ring were jailed for a total of about 40 years, all accused of gathering detailed information on journalists, dissidents and Ukrainian soldiers being trained at a US military base in Germany.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jail
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Noun
After Berchtold returned from Mexico, he was released from jail while his trial was delayed.
—Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Likewise, Danielle Cooney of Live Free Indiana dedicated her speech to railing against Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal for housing ICE detainees at the county jail.
—Tony Cook, IndyStar, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
Randrianirina was little known even in Madagascar before the weekend, the BBC reported, although he was jailed in 2023 for planning a coup.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Five other members of the ring were jailed for a total of about 40 years, all accused of gathering detailed information on journalists, dissidents and Ukrainian soldiers being trained at a US military base in Germany.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jail
Cite this Entry
“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jail. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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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