prisoner

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

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

Prisoners from one side clambered up onto a building to escape their attackers and began hurling things down at them.

— anita snow, The Seattle Times, "Part of prison on Arizona-Mexico border locked down," 28 Aug. 2017
There still remains a slight possibility that he was made prisoner but this is a faint hope for the bereaved mother to cling to.

— kitty conley, Post-Tribune, "Crown Point Star Newspaper Almanac," 28 Aug. 2017
His extreme treatment of prisoners and detainees drew widespread condemnation and allegations of racial bias.

— matt ford, The Atlantic, "President Trump Pardons Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio," 25 Aug. 2017
Miami (AP) -- U.S. prosecutors are seeking a 2019 trial date for five prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention center accused of planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.

— Bloomberg.com, "U.S. Prosecutors Seek 2019 Trial in 9/11 Case at Guantanamo," 24 Aug. 2017
No other executions are yet scheduled in Florida, but more than 360 other prisoners still sit on Death Row.

— elizabeth koh, miamiherald, "Florida prepares to execute its first inmate in 19 months," 23 Aug. 2017
In just 13 days its army, with the Bengali rebels, defeated Pakistan and took 90,000 prisoners.

— The Economist, "Post-partum depressionSeventy years of Indo-Pakistani enmity," 22 July 2017
In the past year, HRDC has sent 158 books to various prisoners held by the correctional department.

— andrew henderson, The Courier-Journal, "Human rights organization sues Dept. of Corrections over book censorship," 20 July 2017
In 1971, when martial law again was declared, many left-wing political prisoners were interrogated at Istanbul’s Selimiye barracks.

— richard kaye, Town & Country, "What It's Like to Be a Tourist During a Coup," 14 July 2017

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 Synonyms

Synonyms

capture, internee, captive

Antonyms

captor

Related Words

coprisoner; convict, jailbird; arrestee; abductee, kidnappee (or kidnapee)

Near Antonyms

custodian, guard, guardian, jailer (also jailor), keeper, marshal (also marshall), warden; abductor, kidnapper (also kidnaper)

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