death row

noun

: a prison area housing inmates sentenced to death

—usually used with on

prisoners waiting on death row

Examples of death row in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lee similarly paused executions in 2022 for a review, and earlier this year the state failed to carry out a lethal injection on a death row inmate after struggling to find a vein. — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026

Pike, now 50, has been on death row for decades and would have been the first woman executed in the state in 200 years. — Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026

Wyoming, with no one currently on death row, hasn’t carried out an execution since 1992, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. — Rebecca Boone, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Pike, 50, the only woman on Tennessee's death row, is in critical condition at a hospital, unconscious and on a ventilator, after her execution failed despite two lethal injections, her attorneys said Friday. — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for death row

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Legal Definition

death row

noun

: a prison area housing inmates sentenced to death

death row adjective