jailbirds

noun

plural of jailbird
as in prisoners
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 jailbirds But these jailbirds aren’t using their own fingers to fire off missives or create clones. — Andrew Zucker, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jailbirds
  1. prisoners
  2. convicts
  3. inmates
Noun
  • Depending on the exchange, anywhere from a dozen to more than a hundred Ukrainian prisoners get out, and board a different set of buses.
    — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Played with unctuous authority by the multilingual Danish performer Claes Bang, Kersten claims to have used his influence to obtain the freedom of thousands of concentration camp prisoners, and is obsessed with winning a Nobel Prize.
    — Alissa Simon, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of prisoners
Noun
  • He is listed among the two hundred convicts who arrived in Sydney aboard the barque Norfolk in August 1829.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
  • The new bill has a broader base of legislative support and instead uses the preference distinction to incentivize hiring former convicts as opposed to the 15% quota.
    — Evelyn Ronan, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of convicts
Noun
  • Grafton Correctional Institution houses just over 2,000 inmates for minimum and medium security levels and has been in operation since 1988, according to the facility.
    — Jon Haworth, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • They have been used to subdue violent suspects who are refusing to get into squad cars and inmates who are harming themselves and threatening officers, according to Compliant Technologies.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of inmates

Browse Nearby Words

jailbird
jailbirds
jailbreak
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Cite this Entry

“Jailbirds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jailbirds. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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