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 also take-no-prisoners, take no prisoners
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
Griner returned to American soil in December 2022 in a prisoner swap and is now set to represent the U.S. in Paris in the first Olympics since.
—
Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 22 July 2024
Cardin also backed a new trial for Young under the 2012 Unger ruling that flawed jury instructions entitled certain prisoners to request ones.
—Jean Marbella, Baltimore Sun, 19 July 2024
The most recent high-profile prisoner swap between the two countries saw the U.S. get WNBA player Brittney Griner released in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December 2022.
—Jack Birle, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 19 July 2024
His attorneys said corrections officers effectively denied him access to the prison grievance system, and then state prison officials exploited a federal law, the Prison Litigation Reform Act, intended to control the number of frivolous lawsuits filed by prisoners.
—Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for prisoner 
Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 22 July 2024
Cardin also backed a new trial for Young under the 2012 Unger ruling that flawed jury instructions entitled certain prisoners to request ones.
—Jean Marbella, Baltimore Sun, 19 July 2024
The most recent high-profile prisoner swap between the two countries saw the U.S. get WNBA player Brittney Griner released in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December 2022.
—Jack Birle, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 19 July 2024
His attorneys said corrections officers effectively denied him access to the prison grievance system, and then state prison officials exploited a federal law, the Prison Litigation Reform Act, intended to control the number of frivolous lawsuits filed by prisoners.
—Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for prisoner
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prisoner.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Prisoner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prisoner. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prisoner
noun
pris·on·er
ˈpriz-nər 
-ᵊn-ər
: a person who has been captured or locked up
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