as in prisoner
a person convicted as a criminal and serving a prison sentence had spent most of his sorry life as a jailbird in hoosegows across the South

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 jailbird Excuse me, Ayanna’s husband, a jailbird named Conan Harris, bought the mansion, not the Congresswoman. Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025 Her jumpsuit is a couture twist on the cartoonish striped getup of a jailbird. Jemal Polson, CNN Money, 8 May 2025 Becomes a jailbird at a high-security zoo after he’s caught, with the newest Wallace & Gromit film, Vengeance Most Fowl, finding Feathers, all these years later, hell-bent on getting even with the duo who locked him up. Devon Ivie, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2025 Twenty years later, an actress named Selma Vaz Dias, who wanted to dramatize Good Morning, Midnight on the radio, found her living in poverty and obscurity in the English countryside with a third husband who also ended an embezzler and a jailbird. Vivian Gornick, The New Republic, 6 Jan. 2023 The jailbird and guard stayed in touch over the phone, according to Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton. Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 11 May 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jailbird
Noun
  • Netanyahu was able to get the first phase of the deal through, including the return of the hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
    Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
  • In the deal's first phase, Hamas released the last 20 living Israel hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
    Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • An inmate receiving treatment at a Tucson hospital was shot and killed by a corrections officer.
    Julie Mendes, AZCentral.com, 23 Oct. 2025
  • After what witnesses and victims described as an ambush, some inmates seized and passed out from the fumes.
    Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Fire Country stars Max Thieriot as a former convict who works as a Cal Fire firefighter.
    Allison DeGrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Former convicts include Millie Bobby Brown and Margaret Qualley, who were both gifted the artist’s fluffy pink handcuffs while attending one of her shows.
    Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 12 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Thirty years ago, parents everywhere were compelled to weigh the pros and cons of allowing their kids to see Titanic.
    Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2025
  • On that note, the growth of artificial intelligence tools — the pros, the cons and the unknowns — are certain to be a theme of Mipcom.
    Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Jailbird.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jailbird. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

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