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Just as English is full of nouns referring to places where prisoners are confined, from the familiar (jail and prison) to the obscure (calaboose and bridewell), so we have multiple verbs for the action of putting people behind bars. Some words can be used as both nouns and verbs, if in slightly different forms: one can be jailed in a jail, imprisoned in a prison, locked up in a lockup, or even jugged in a jug. Incarcerate does not have such a noun equivalent in English—incarceration refers to the state of confinement rather than a physical structure—but it comes ultimately from the Latin noun carcer, meaning “prison.” Incarcerate is also on the formal end of the spectrum when it comes to words related to the law and criminal justice, meaning you are more likely to read or hear about someone incarcerated in a penitentiary or detention center than in the pokey or hoosegow.
Synonyms
Examples of incarcerate in a Sentence
Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 11 July 2024
Employers challenged to understand, address stigma faced by formerly incarcerated job-seekers
Los Angeles will join a growing movement in K-12 education to ban phones and has won the support of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has endorsed a bill to make such a rule to go statewide.
—Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 11 July 2024
Both Steele and Brown are incarcerated at the D.C. jail, awaiting a trial date to be set.
—Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post, 10 July 2024
Cy Young award-winning pitcher LaMarr Hoyt’s contract even though Hoyt was incarcerated for a crime.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for incarcerate 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incarcerate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near incarcerate
Cite this Entry
“Incarcerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarcerate. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incarcerate
verb
Legal Definition
incarcerate
transitive verb
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison
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