incarceration
noun
in·car·cer·a·tion
(ˌ)in-ˌkär-sə-ˈrā-shən 
plural incarcerations
: confinement in a jail or prison : the act of imprisoning someone or the state of being imprisoned
Despite the drop in crime in past decades, rates of arrest and incarceration in New York City have not gone down.—
Robin Steinberg
Robin SteinbergTo this day, the Supreme Court has not overruled its infamous Korematsu opinion of 1944, which validated our mass incarceration in deference to national security.—George Takei
George TakeiExamples of incarceration in a Sentence
he was bored and frustrated by his incarceration in the quarantine
sentenced to six months of incarceration for dealing in narcotics
Recent Examples on the Web
Bliss Army base, once the site of an incarceration camp for Japanese Americans during World War II.
—Morgan Lee, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
County leaders said the center is intended to address common barriers faced by people leaving incarceration — including lack of identification, housing or access to treatment.
—Ross Dimattei, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
That includes parents who cannot find child care, residents in rural communities who must travel hours to get training, and people leaving incarceration who need a path to stable employment.
—Wilborn P. Nobles Iii, Dallas Morning News, 4 Mar. 2026
Some directly connected bottling up feelings to behaviors that had led to their incarceration.
—Helena Addison, The Conversation, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incarceration
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Morgan Lee, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
County leaders said the center is intended to address common barriers faced by people leaving incarceration — including lack of identification, housing or access to treatment.
—Ross Dimattei, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
That includes parents who cannot find child care, residents in rural communities who must travel hours to get training, and people leaving incarceration who need a path to stable employment.
—Wilborn P. Nobles Iii, Dallas Morning News, 4 Mar. 2026
Some directly connected bottling up feelings to behaviors that had led to their incarceration.
—Helena Addison, The Conversation, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incarceration
Cite this Entry
“Incarceration.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarceration. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
incarceration
noun
in·car·cer·a·tion
in-ˌkär-sə-ˈrā-shən
1
: a confining or state of being confined
2
: abnormal retention or confinement of a body part
specifically
: a constriction of the neck of a hernial sac so that the hernial contents become irreducible
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