: any of a group occupying a single place of residence
especially
: a person confined (as in a prison or hospital)
Examples of inmate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The request comes as the state's prisons are overflowing with inmates, and the department is over budget by millions of dollars.
—
Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026
Kimbrough makes inmates sign a waiver allowing police to inspect their phones without a warrant, court documents state.
—Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
The rejections, including a refusal to pay for hundreds more prison beds, came a month after a legislative analyst warned that the state’s prisons were going to exceed their capacity in the coming fiscal year, primarily because the number of inmates released on discretionary parole has declined.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 22 Jan. 2026
Their film investigates shocking conditions in Alabama’s state prisons and makes use of videos secretly recorded by some inmates.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inmate
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Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026
Kimbrough makes inmates sign a waiver allowing police to inspect their phones without a warrant, court documents state.
—Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
The rejections, including a refusal to pay for hundreds more prison beds, came a month after a legislative analyst warned that the state’s prisons were going to exceed their capacity in the coming fiscal year, primarily because the number of inmates released on discretionary parole has declined.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 22 Jan. 2026
Their film investigates shocking conditions in Alabama’s state prisons and makes use of videos secretly recorded by some inmates.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inmate
Cite this Entry
“Inmate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inmate. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
inmate
noun
in·mate
ˈin-ˌmāt 
: a member of a group living in a single residence
especially
: a person kept in an institution (as a hospital or prison)
Medical Definition
inmate
noun
in·mate
ˈin-ˌmāt
: one of a group occupying a single place of residence
especially
: a person confined (as in a psychiatric hospital) especially for a long time
Legal Definition
inmate
noun
in·mate
ˈin-ˌmāt
: a person confined in an institution (as a prison or hospital)
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