prisoner

noun pris·on·er \ ˈpriz-nər , ˈpri-zᵊn-ər \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Definition of prisoner

1 : a person deprived of liberty and kept under involuntary restraint, confinement, or custody; especially : one on trial or in prison

2 : someone restrained as if in prison

a prisoner of her own conscience

See prisoner defined for English-language learners

See prisoner defined for kids

Examples of prisoner in a Sentence

He was captured by rebel forces and kept as their prisoner for several months before they set him free.
The families were held prisoner for four days.

Recent Examples of prisoner from the Web

The state has said in court filings that the prisoners haven't been deprived of any rights protected by state or federal law.

— kate brumback, Fox News, "Report blasts Georgia solitary confinement as 'draconian'," 10 July 2018
The fifth season brought the action to a bracing, tragic halt as the Litchfield prisoners tried to stage a revolution.

— refinery29.com, "Orange Is The New Black," 9 July 2018
The prisoners spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

— maggie michael, The Seattle Times, "Yemen demands Emirates shut down prisons where abuses rife," 9 July 2018
The prisoner's trick of knocking against walls to speak becomes drums representing the language of the other captive orcas—as urgent and opaque as each pod's language might be to another.

— irene hsiao, Chicago Reader, "Why does a sea mammal evoke more sympathy than a black man?, asks Tilikum," 5 July 2018
There are many differences between the prisoners of 1942 and 2018.

— rick hampson, USA TODAY, "Celebrating Independence Day in America's detention camps – during World War II and now," 2 July 2018
Graterford staff discovered the prisoner was missing during an inmate count at 9 p.m., McNaughton said.

— stephanie farr, Philly.com, "Graterford Prison inmate attempts escape," 30 June 2018
The prisoner lost that case, for which I was subpoenaed to testify, as well as his chance at an early release.

— brian chasnoff, San Antonio Express-News, "Menace toward journalists has grown under Trump," 29 June 2018
In the weeks leading up to his schedule execution, Bible's legal team launched a flurry of last-minute claims, arguing that the aging prisoner might be too sick to execute.

— keri blakinger, Houston Chronicle, "Houston serial killer Danny Bible scheduled for execution tonight," 27 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prisoner.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of prisoner

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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prisoner Synonyms

PRISONER Defined for English Language Learners

prisoner

noun

Definition of prisoner for English Language Learners

: a person who is kept in a prison
: a person who has been captured and is being kept somewhere

PRISONER Defined for Kids

prisoner

noun pris·on·er \ ˈpri-zᵊn-ər , ˈpriz-nər \

Definition of prisoner for Students

: a person who has been captured or locked up

Law Dictionary

prisoner

noun pris·on·er

legal Definition of prisoner

: a person deprived of liberty and kept under involuntary restraint, confinement, or custody; especially : one under arrest, awaiting trial, on trial, or serving a prison sentence