1
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
specifically
: such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (such as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes compare prison
2
: confinement in a jail
sentenced to jail
Examples of jail in a Sentence
Noun
He was locked up in the county jail.
He was arrested and sent to jail.
He went to jail for his crimes.
He just got out of jail a few weeks ago.
He was kept in jail overnight.
Verb
threatened to jail the punks if they so much as jaywalked
Recent Examples on the Web
Shakeia Taylor, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Enriquez said the man would be booked into jail on felony charges.
—Perry Vandell, AZCentral.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
Leal was ultimately jailed for three nights, then released, according to Abusamra.
—Julia Marnin, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jail
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Noun
So the federal government has subpoena power, and can threaten to put people in jail, can do all kinds of things that a league office can’t do.
—Shakeia Taylor, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Enriquez said the man would be booked into jail on felony charges.
—Perry Vandell, AZCentral.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
Bushart, a 61-year-old former law enforcement officer, was jailed for over a month before being released.
—Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
Leal was ultimately jailed for three nights, then released, according to Abusamra.
—Julia Marnin, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jail
Cite this Entry
“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jail. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
jail
noun
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
specifically
: such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes compare house of correction, house of detention, lockup, penitentiary, prison
jail
transitive verb
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