Synonyms of behind bars

behind bars

phrase

as in imprisoned

taken and held prisoner

The con artist was behind bars for printing fake checks.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• imprisoned
• jailed
• arrested
• captive
• confined
• captured
• incarcerated
• interned
• kidnapped
• apprehended
• bound
• caught
• trapped
• occupied
• enslaved
• abducted
• subdued
• ensnared
• subjugated
• indentured

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• free
• released
• delivered
• freed
• unrestrained
• liberated
• unconfined
• emancipated
• paroled
• enfranchised

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of behind bars

Jackson pleaded guilty to an accessory charge and was released from custody last year after spending about three years behind bars while awaiting trial. — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026

He was sentenced to more than four years behind bars in October after being convicted in July on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. — Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026

The 26-year-old Young, who’d already spent four years behind bars, had used that time productively. — Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026

The district attorney who put the killer behind bars for the rest of his life and won an unprecedented murder conviction against his father, agreed. — Isabel Rosales, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026