as in jails
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
told harrowing stories of his years spent in the big house
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Recent Examples of big houses
Wooden signs dot roadsides advertising homes from the $300,000s for a townhome to over $1 million for big houses in the most desirable suburban neighborhoods.
—
Jonathan J. Cooper, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Thank goodness for wealthy people and their big houses.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2025
Jonathan J. Cooper, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Thank goodness for wealthy people and their big houses.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for big houses
Noun
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At the time, County Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez was giving unusual instructions to the audience members, many of whom were there to criticize the agreement, which added a compensation stipend to an existing cooperation deal between Miami-Dade jails and ICE.—
Douglas Hanks,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
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The Dallas County and Harris County jails are larger.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The wave of prison violence is happening despite the deployment of military and police forces in several penitentiaries.—
Michael Rios,
CNN Money,
8 Dec. 2025
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After his conviction, Gray was sent to Angola, one of the most violent penitentiaries in the country at the time.—
Richard A. Webster,
ProPublica,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the announcement, while human-rights groups accused the military of ignoring one of the gravest instances of abuse in the country's network of wartime prisons.—
JULIA FRANKEL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
13 Mar. 2026
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That contract lapsed after then-President Joe Biden issued an executive order barring the Department of Justice from contracting with private prisons.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Big houses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/big%20houses. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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