as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
fittingly, the calaboose in that one-horse town consisted of a single cell
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Recent Examples of calaboose
Heritage Village includes an 1881 two-cell calaboose from Mokena, the 1856 Wells Corner one-room schoolhouse from Homer Glen, the 1863 Greenho farmhouse from Crest Hill, the 1881 Wabash railroad depot from Symerton and a Lockport smokehouse.
—
Jessi Virtusio, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2022
Lachenais was arrested and secured in the local calaboose, but a vigilance committee descended upon the jail and tore Lachenais out of his cell.
—Yxta Maya Murray, Longreads, 19 Aug. 2020
Brooks was escorted to the calaboose and thrown into the main holding tank with the other prisoners.
—Skip Hollandsworth, Esquire, 5 Apr. 2016
All Chenneville had to do was ride up on his horse, remove the smoking gun or bloody knife from the killer's hand, and drag him to the calaboose—the local jail, which was just down the hall from the police department.
—Skip Hollandsworth, Esquire, 5 Apr. 2016
Jessi Virtusio, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2022
Lachenais was arrested and secured in the local calaboose, but a vigilance committee descended upon the jail and tore Lachenais out of his cell.
—Yxta Maya Murray, Longreads, 19 Aug. 2020
Brooks was escorted to the calaboose and thrown into the main holding tank with the other prisoners.
—Skip Hollandsworth, Esquire, 5 Apr. 2016
All Chenneville had to do was ride up on his horse, remove the smoking gun or bloody knife from the killer's hand, and drag him to the calaboose—the local jail, which was just down the hall from the police department.
—Skip Hollandsworth, Esquire, 5 Apr. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calaboose
Noun
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The Associated Press in 2021 investigated how the technology landed a Chicago grandfather in jail after it was used as evidence to charge him with murder, with a judge later dismissing the case due to insufficient evidence.—
R. Christian Smith,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Aug. 2025
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Last year, Estrada was already in county jail for unrelated reasons when he was arrested on suspicion of Coriz’s murder.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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At the beloved attraction in San Francisco Bay, visitors could scarcely believe President Trump had suggested turning Alcatraz back into a penitentiary.—
Heather Knight,
New York Times,
6 May 2025
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In the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, a Russian glide bomb attack on a local penitentiary killed 17 inmates and wounded more than 80 others in one of the deadliest strikes in the region to date.—
Katya Soldak,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
Noun
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He was sentenced to a term of five months to 20 years in prison and ordered to be removed to Laos in 2007.—
Niraj Warikoo,
Freep.com,
9 Aug. 2025
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After pleading guilty, Lewis was sentenced to 2½ years in prison in addition to a no-contact order that bans him from Fever games and facilities.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Calaboose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calaboose. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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