Synonyms of hoosegow

hoosegow

noun

ˈhüs-ˌgau̇ 

as in jail

a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody

they ended up in the hoosegow for disorderly conduct

Synonyms & Similar Words

• jail
• prison
• penitentiary
• slammer
• brig
• calaboose
• jailhouse
• lockup
• stockade
• pen
• pokey
• clink
• bridewell
• coop
• bastille
• cooler
• hock
• guardroom
• tolbooth
• jug
• cage
• stir
• big house
• nick
• joint
• quod
• can
• cell
• tank
• slam
• dungeon
• hold
• ward
• guardhouse
• bull pen
• gulag
• hole
• stalag
• oubliette
• reformatory
• concentration camp
• work camp
• keep
• labor camp
• block
• prison camp
• glasshouse
• hulk(s)
• reform school
• training school

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• outside

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hoosegow

Every day at the high security hoosegow holds the possibility of turmoil and violence. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2025

Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park Carved from granite cliffs overlooking the Colorado River, Yuma Prison was the Old West’s most notorious hoosegow, garnering a fearsome reputation. — Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2025

In prison, there are Keene’s encounters with a real-life mob boss and a manipulative guard to add tension, and just enough mayhem to remind you that this is no ordinary hoosegow. — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2022

Most famously, in 1968 Johnny Cash serenaded state inmates at the max-security Folsom Prison in California, later turning the hoosegow act into a live album titled At Folsom Prison. — Keri Blakinger, Houston Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2019

Carved from a granite cliff overlooking the Colorado River, this was America’s most notorious 19th century hoosegow. — Roger Naylor, azcentral, 4 Oct. 2019

And Blankenship has charged that Manchin, who was governor at the time of the mine explosion, conspired with Barack Obama (not a popular figure in West Virginia) to send him to the hoosegow. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 20 Mar. 2018

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