imprison

verb

im·​pris·​on im-ˈpri-zᵊn 

imprisoned; imprisoning; imprisons

transitive verb

: to put in or as if in prison : confine

imprisonment

im-ˈpri-zᵊn-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• jail
• incarcerate

Examples of imprison in a Sentence

He was imprisoned for murder.

He has threatened to imprison his political opponents.

Recent Examples on the Web

For more than 20 years, Lyle and Erik were imprisoned separately, with Lyle in Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, Calif., and Erik about 500 miles away at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County. —Jessica Sager, People.com, 20 Aug. 2025

First, his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was imprisoned for stealing nearly $17 million from the Japanese star to pay off gambling debts. —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 Aug. 2025

Iswaran was imprisoned in October last year but was allowed to spend the rest of his 12-month jail sentence at home from February. —Jonathan Burgos, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025

Nor can the scores of Russian nationals imprisoned for their antiwar stance or actions. —Tanya Lokshina, Foreign Affairs, 15 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French emprisoner, from en- + prison prison

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for imprison

• arisen
• kisan
• mizzen
• nisan
• prison
• risen

Kids Definition

imprison

verb

im·​pris·​on im-ˈpriz-ᵊn 

imprisoned; imprisoning

-ˈpriz-(ə-)niŋ

: to put in or as if in prison

imprisonment

-ˈpriz-ən-mənt 

noun

Legal Definition

imprison

transitive verb

im·​pris·​on

: to confine in prison especially as punishment for a crime compare false imprisonment

imprisonment noun