as in prisons
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 imprisons
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 jails
Dallas Morning News, 19 Mar. 2026
Sheriff Robert Luna has asked the National Institute of Corrections to examine conditions and practices at Los Angeles County jails, a request made after 10 inmates died in jail custody in less than three months.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
The Mellon Foundation recently awarded the program a $4 million grant to help build similar library programs in other jails.
—Itay Hod, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
The Sheriff’s Office committed to removing tie-off points from its jails but has not yet completed those renovations.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
The University of California, Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project, a research initiative, successfully sued through the Freedom of Information Act to access data about ICE arrests including nationalities, conviction status and whether arrests occurred at jails or in the community.
—ABC News, 15 Mar. 2026
Such shooters will find their next destination to be our jails and prisons.
—Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 15 Mar. 2026
At the time, County Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez was giving unusual instructions to the audience members, many of whom were there to criticize the agreement, which added a compensation stipend to an existing cooperation deal between Miami-Dade jails and ICE.
—Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 11 Mar. 2026
The Dallas County and Harris County jails are larger.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 24 Feb. 2026
China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
The regime that jails children also profits from drugs, human trafficking, and online scams.
—Kim Aris, Time, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
Like jails across the country, staffing shortages have persisted under Sheriff Brown’s tenure, and the department spent more than $73 million on overtime for employees over the past three years.
—Dallas Morning News, 19 Mar. 2026
Sheriff Robert Luna has asked the National Institute of Corrections to examine conditions and practices at Los Angeles County jails, a request made after 10 inmates died in jail custody in less than three months.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
The Mellon Foundation recently awarded the program a $4 million grant to help build similar library programs in other jails.
—Itay Hod, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
The Sheriff’s Office committed to removing tie-off points from its jails but has not yet completed those renovations.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
The University of California, Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project, a research initiative, successfully sued through the Freedom of Information Act to access data about ICE arrests including nationalities, conviction status and whether arrests occurred at jails or in the community.
—ABC News, 15 Mar. 2026
Such shooters will find their next destination to be our jails and prisons.
—Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 15 Mar. 2026
At the time, County Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez was giving unusual instructions to the audience members, many of whom were there to criticize the agreement, which added a compensation stipend to an existing cooperation deal between Miami-Dade jails and ICE.
—Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 11 Mar. 2026
The Dallas County and Harris County jails are larger.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
Verb
The facility is one of 11 Kentucky jails that contract with ICE to detain people.
—Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 24 Feb. 2026
China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
The regime that jails children also profits from drugs, human trafficking, and online scams.
—Kim Aris, Time, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jails
Noun
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Deihl, who has worked in Michigan prisons for 15 years, says staffing shortages are creating increasingly unsafe conditions for officers.—
Lauren Winfrey,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
-
The ratio of officers to inmates at state prisons is still too low.—
Adam Beam,
AJC.com,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Belarus now imprisons 28 journalists as President Lukashenko intensifies a crackdown on press freedom.—
Yuras Karmanau,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Afwerki routinely imprisons his critics and political opponents and has implemented a policy of indefinite mandatory military and national service for residents, which human-rights watchdogs say amounts to slavery.—
Zak Cheney-Rice,
Vulture,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Behind bars in state penitentiaries in Gatesville and Marlin, Mejia felt forgotten.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
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The wave of prison violence is happening despite the deployment of military and police forces in several penitentiaries.—
Michael Rios,
CNN Money,
8 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jails. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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