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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of jail
Christopher Damien, USA Today, 1 Feb. 2026
Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes, serving four years in jail while awaiting trial, until Trump pardoned him last Jan. 20 along with other Jan. 6 defendants and convicts.
—Jack Brook, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026
Michael Biesecker, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
Before the release campaign began, Venezuelan nongovernmental groups estimated that more than 1,000 people were jailed for political reasons.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for jail
Noun
Aftermath of a jail death Within three hours of Jamall Brown’s death, an internal-affairs sergeant was writing a different version of what had happened.
—Christopher Damien, USA Today, 1 Feb. 2026
Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes, serving four years in jail while awaiting trial, until Trump pardoned him last Jan. 20 along with other Jan. 6 defendants and convicts.
—Jack Brook, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026
Verb
Officers immediately tackled and arrested Kazmierczak, who was jailed on a preliminary third-degree assault charge, police spokesperson Trevor Folke said.
—Michael Biesecker, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
Before the release campaign began, Venezuelan nongovernmental groups estimated that more than 1,000 people were jailed for political reasons.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for jail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jail
Noun
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Oscar Wilde was not the only Irishman locked up in an English prison to draw Proust’s attention.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
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Nguyen pleaded guilty last year to a felony charge and multiple misdemeanors and is now serving a seven-year prison sentence, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Even the Committee to Protect Journalists, an organization that monitors and honors reporters imprisoned by authoritarian government regimes overseas, felt compelled to weigh in on Lemon’s arrest.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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Skylark by Paula McLain Set across two eras in Paris, Skylark follows Alouette Voland, a young woman unjustly imprisoned in the Salpêtrière asylum in 1664, and Kristof Larson, a medical resident in 1939 risking everything to protect his Jewish neighbors during the Nazi occupation.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, an 8-year-old in West Baltimore at the time of the murder, offers piercing commentary on the impact of both the initial crime and the succeeding one, the grievously unjust trial that put three kids in the penitentiary.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
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Central Time Wednesday following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Grayson, who has been incarcerated since he was charged, received the maximum possible sentence.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
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Cornish is currently incarcerated at the jail in Canyon County, but will be transferred to one of the state’s prisons to begin serving his lifetime sentence.—
Alex Brizee,
Idaho Statesman,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jail. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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