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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
Muhammad Darwish, CNN Money, 17 Nov. 2025
Bipartisan legislation in the state Capitol could use federal dollars from Medicaid to provide substance use disorder treatment to incarcerated people up to 90 days before their release.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 17 Nov. 2025
Despite the pardon, Wilson remained incarcerated.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 16 Nov. 2025
Both of her parents were incarcerated for much of her life, leaving her to be raised by her maternal grandparents in California.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 15 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incarcerate
Cite this Entry
“Incarcerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarcerate. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
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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