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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
Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
Filming in a constricting boxy aspect ratio, the Ukrainian director takes us inside a corroding prison filled with men unjustly incarcerated as enemies of the state.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
The federal Department of Justice announced an investigation into California’s correctional system Thursday over the state’s policy of housing incarcerated transgender women in female prisons.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 26 Mar. 2026
The exultation that broke out inside the courtroom as Moss embraced her grown daughter, who was 5 when Moss was incarcerated, soon reached Mabel Bassett Correctional Center.
—Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 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 30 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incarcerate
verb
Legal Definition
incarcerate
transitive verb
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison
