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

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about prisoner

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Synonyms & Antonyms for prisoner

Synonyms

captive, capture, internee

Antonyms

captor

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 on the Web

The Justice Department says only 10 percent of U.S. prisoners are housed in the federal system (the rest being in the state or local systems). — Meg Kelly, Washington Post, "Fact-checking President Trump’s numbers on the ‘human toll of illegal immigration’," 6 July 2018 Palestinian officials say that many of the prisoners or the dead were not involved in attacking Israelis, and that stopping the payments would anger many Palestinians. — Isabel Kershner, New York Times, "Israel Penalizes Palestinians for Payments to Prisoners and ‘Martyrs’," 3 July 2018 As a medical student I was given the task to examine several of these prisoners. — Denise Gellene, BostonGlobe.com, "Arvid Carlsson, 95; discovered a treatment for Parkinson’s," 2 July 2018 Most of the other prisoners didn’t escape or hide in the bunker. — refinery29.com, "Orange Is The New Black," 29 June 2018 The new agreement also calls for the opening of corridors for humanitarian aid, the release of prisoners and the withdrawal of forces. — Sam Mednick, Fox News, "South Sudan's warring sides agree to permanent cease-fire," 28 June 2018 And apart from releasing a trio of US prisoners and staging what most experts believe is a public relations stunt by dismantling a nuclear test site, Kim has offered no meaningful concessions. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, "History beckons for Trump and Kim," 11 June 2018 But Mr Salvini appears to have believed a rumour that the increase was due to an amnesty (in reality, an annual pardon that led to the release of only around 400 prisoners). — The Economist, "Italy’s new government wants to deport 500,000 people," 7 June 2018 Male prison guards won't be allowed to do pat-downs and cavity searches of female prisoners unless there is an immediate risk and a female correctional officer is not available. — Julia O'donoghue, NOLA.com, "Louisiana prisoners will no longer have to pay for tampons," 26 May 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.

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Dictionary Entries near prisoner

prisoner of conscience

Phrases Related to prisoner

political prisoner

prisoner of conscience

take (someone) prisoner

Statistics for prisoner

Last Updated

14 Oct 2018

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Time Traveler for prisoner

The first known use of prisoner was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for prisoner

prisoner

noun

English Language Learners Definition of prisoner

: a person who is kept in a prison

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

See the full definition for prisoner in the English Language Learners Dictionary

prisoner

noun

pris·on·er | \ˈpri-zᵊn-ər,

ˈpriz-nər\

Kids Definition of prisoner

: a person who has been captured or locked up

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