jail 1 of 2

noun

ˈjāl How to pronounce jail (audio)
Definition of jailnext
as in prison
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody sentenced to three years in jail for his crime

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of jail
Noun
In 2010, a married Muslim Palestinian man was convicted by an Israeli court—and went to jail—for having had sex with an Israeli woman while representing himself as a Jewish bachelor. — S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026 Overby remains held in Calaveras County jail in lieu of $145,000 bail, according to sheriff’s jail records. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Verb
He was jailed in 2010 while shooting a film and arrested again in 2022, then provisionally released after eight months. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026 Rodríguez's administration denies the country is jailing dissidents. — ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for jail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jail
  1. prison
  2. imprison
  3. penitentiary
  4. incarcerate
Noun
  • Federal probation officials are recommending 24 months in prison.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Unflinching, the documentary does not shy away from addressing the critics’ panning of much of McCartney’s solo work, the murder of John Lennon, his brief stint in a Japanese prison and his bold choice to sue the Beatles.
    — Kristin Robinson, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of prison
Verb
  • Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main political rival, has been imprisoned since March of last year and is on trial on corruption charges.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The state has charged as much as $347 per day, meaning anyone who was imprisoned for a year in Connecticut racked up a tab of nearly $127,000.
    — Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of imprison
Noun
  • Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, is set to die by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • LeJames Norman, 40, was put to death by lethal injection Wednesday at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of penitentiary
Verb
  • Now 50, Pike has been incarcerated since 1995 for the murder that year of her former classmate, Colleen Slemmer.
    — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Her biological father had been an inconsistent presence, and her mother was incarcerated.
    — Peter Hessler, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of incarcerate

Browse Nearby Words

jags
jail
jailbird
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Cite this Entry

“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jail. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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