jailer

noun

jail·​er ˈjā-lər How to pronounce jailer (audio)
variants or less commonly jailor
1
: a keeper of a jail
2
: one that restricts another's liberty as if by imprisonment

Examples of jailer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This encourages the innocents locked in political prisons and undermines the authority of their jailers. James Freeman, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2023 Now his former jailer was walking past him in a humdrum Addis Ababa neighborhood. Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023 In one case, a dozen men stabbed another inmate for roughly 14 minutes before jailers arrived. Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023 The defendants are the jailer, another jailer, a nurse and Woods. Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2023 In May, White entered a guilty plea to escape charges in exchange for the felony murder charge involving Vicky White, the Lauderdale County jailer who facilitated his 11-day 2022 escape, being dropped. William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, 18 July 2023 According to the news release, Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. emphasizes deputy jailers in Jefferson County are required to complete 72 hours of training, exceeding the state mandate of 56 hours of jail training. Staff Report, Arkansas Online, 17 Sep. 2023 And when this happened to Harris, as Harris alleges, the jailer was selected for termination, but Jefferson County Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. swooped in to keep the jailer on staff. Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2023 In the notice of claim — a filing that is typically the precursor to a lawsuit — attorney Thomas Beck also accused jailers at the Norwalk sheriff’s station of harassing his client by allegedly forcing the then-23-year-old teacher to expose his genitals in order to prove his gender. Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jailer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of jailer was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near jailer

Cite this Entry

“Jailer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jailer. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

jailer

noun
jail·​er
variants or jailor
: a keeper of a jail

Legal Definition

jailer

noun
jail·​er
: a keeper of a jail
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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