Synonyms of jail

jail 1 of 2

noun

ˈjāl 

as in prison

a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody

sentenced to three years in jail for his crime

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• outside

jail

2 of 2

verb

as in to imprison

to put in or as if in prison

threatened to jail the punks if they so much as jaywalked

Synonyms & Similar Words

• imprison
• incarcerate
• intern
• arrest
• confine
• detain
• commit
• lock (up)
• restrain
• catch
• immure
• shut
• gate
• jug
• capture
• limit
• apprehend
• bar
• restrict
• seize
• constrain
• keep
• impound
• bind
• hold
• bust
• impress
• pinch
• nab
• handcuff
• shackle
• pick up
• shanghai
• fetter
• manacle
• enchain
• trammel

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• free
• release
• liberate
• discharge
• emancipate
• manumit
• unchain
• enfranchise
• unbind
• unfetter
• uncage

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of jail

Noun

Mia sits in a hospital bed while their son sits in a jail cell. — Sam McDowell July 30, Kansas City Star, 30 July 2026

Another aging stuntman, Ronald Hambleton, a former meth user who had done jail time, also said that Blake asked him to shoot his wife, proposing numerous scenarios, including an ambush outside Vitello’s. — Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026

Verb

The January crackdown, sparked by economic anger and calls to oust Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left thousands dead and tens of thousands jailed in the Islamic Republic’s bloodiest repression. — Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2026

Two Romanian nationals, who prosecutors said had been acting ​for Iran, were jailed this month for stabbing a journalist working for an independent Iranian news outlet, Iran International, in London. — Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026