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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.
Examples of incarcerate in a Sentence
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
That struck him as hypocritical when about a year later, while incarcerated against his will, the same military demanded his willingness to serve, likely in the segregated unit of Japanese American soldiers called the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 19 Feb. 2026
This article has been updated to clarify that Ditè Anata knew Jeffrey Epstein had been incarcerated for a criminal act involving a minor.
—Chris Quintana, USA Today, 19 Feb. 2026
McIntyre’s case eventually came to the attention of Cheryl Pilate, a Kansas City attorney who worked with Centurion Ministries, a nonprofit that investigates incarcerated people’s claims of innocence.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incarcerate
Cite this Entry
“Incarcerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarcerate. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incarcerate
verb
Legal Definition
incarcerate
transitive verb
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison
