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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
From the M-W Editors
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
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In just 13 days its army, with the Bengali rebels, defeated Pakistan and took 90,000 prisoners.
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In the past year, HRDC has sent 158 books to various prisoners held by the correctional department.
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Specifically, you were recorded striking said prisoner repeatedly in the face.
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Each group involved in the offensive has been detaining prisoners—including juveniles—and funneling them to various facilities, where their cases are supposed to be handled in the justice system.
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The video included the former gas chambers, where the lawmaker narrated how Nazis systematically slaughtered the mostly Jewish prisoners.
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At the Independence Mall event, Kenney presented Ralph Galati, a war hero, former prisoner of war and currently, the director of veterans services at St. Joseph’s University, with the Magis Award, recognizing his work with veterans.
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Prison staff at El Dorado Correctional Facility were attempting to return prisoners to their cell houses on Thursday afternoon after some refused earlier in the day.
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The average stay was eight days before prisoners were moved to another facility.
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
PRISONER Defined for English Language Learners
prisoner
playDefinition of prisoner for English Language Learners
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: a person who is kept in a prison
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: a person who has been captured and is being kept somewhere
PRISONER Defined for Kids
prisoner
playDefinition of prisoner for Students
: a person who has been captured or locked up
Law Dictionary
prisoner
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
Learn More about prisoner
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for prisoner Spanish Central: Translation of prisoner Nglish: Translation of prisoner for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of prisoner for Arabic speakers
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