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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
Alex Stone, ABC News, 9 June 2026
Michigan lawmakers and women who were formerly incarcerated at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti are looking for answers after three women died at the facility in the past month.
—Jack Springgate, CBS News, 9 June 2026
Employers will be discouraged to hire not only seniors but also formerly incarcerated, people who are transitioning from foster care, people with disabilities, and even single parents.
—Dwight Earl Williams, Oc Register, 4 June 2026
Connecticut spends more than $100,000 annually to incarcerate a single individual.
—Beth Hines, Hartford Courant, 4 June 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 12 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incarcerate
verb
Legal Definition
incarcerate
transitive verb
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison
