as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
the captain ordered that the prisoner be thrown into the brig immediately
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Recent Examples of brig
It’s believed the 124-foot ship is a schooner or brig built in the mid-19th century, with its hull sheathed in copper.
—
Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 20 June 2024
Abandoning all sense of order or control, a few of the sailors careened through the brig, demanding liquor from the frightened passengers.
—Eric Jay Dolin, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 May 2024
On the defense’s side: Lieutenant Barney Greenwald (Jason Clarke), who’s claiming that Maryk shouldn’t be thrown in the brig because the man at the helm of the ship had lost his marbles, and thus was endangering the lives of the entire crew.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2023
The government held both Padilla and al-Marri in a Navy brig to keep them out of civilian custody.
—Brian Michael Jenkins, Foreign Affairs, 1 Feb. 2012
See All Example Sentences for brig
Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 20 June 2024
Abandoning all sense of order or control, a few of the sailors careened through the brig, demanding liquor from the frightened passengers.
—Eric Jay Dolin, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 May 2024
On the defense’s side: Lieutenant Barney Greenwald (Jason Clarke), who’s claiming that Maryk shouldn’t be thrown in the brig because the man at the helm of the ship had lost his marbles, and thus was endangering the lives of the entire crew.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2023
The government held both Padilla and al-Marri in a Navy brig to keep them out of civilian custody.
—Brian Michael Jenkins, Foreign Affairs, 1 Feb. 2012
See All Example Sentences for brig
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brig
Noun
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Starting in the 1880s, the city and county each built a series of increasingly spacious jails—and then proceeded to fill them well above capacity each winter.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Grayson has been held in the Macon County jail ahead of his trial.—
Deena Zaru,
ABC News,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Regarding the lack of disciplinary records documenting policy violations, Payne placed blame on prison staff for failure to write Holt up for disciplinary violations.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Oct. 2025
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In August 2024, Lorincz was convicted on the manslaughter charge, and in November, a judge sentenced her to 25 years in prison.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Portlaoise Prison, which is in the center of Ireland, is a nineteenth-century penitentiary built like a fortress—a one-star establishment, at best.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
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If found guilty of a level 5 felony, Sanchez could be imprisoned anywhere from one to six years at an Indiana penitentiary and fined up to $10,000, according to the Indiana Code.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
12 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brig.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brig. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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