as in jails
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
they ended up in the hoosegow for disorderly conduct
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoosegows
Noun
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Researchers centered their work on areas where Fulton County has direct responsibility—courts, jails, elections, libraries and public health.—
Zachary Bynum,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026 -
Now, the island has 10 jails, and can house up to 17,000 prisoners, the city says.—
Amethyst Martinez,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Chinese government launched a brutal crackdown in Xinjiang starting in 2017, sweeping a million or more Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other predominantly Muslim ethnicities into prisons and internment camps.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
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López Aliaga, the ultraconservative former mayor of Peru’s capital, Lima, focuses on a hard-line security agenda, proposing to build prisons in the country’s Amazon region, allowing judges to conceal their identities and expelling foreigners who are living illegally in Peru.—
Franklin Briceño,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Behind bars in state penitentiaries in Gatesville and Marlin, Mejia felt forgotten.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
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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
Noun
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However, a lot of big houses have been built on smallish lots.—
Richard Dahlberg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Mar. 2026
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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
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Cite this Entry
“Hoosegows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoosegows. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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