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
Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
To address custody deaths in Los Angeles County jails, Bornman wants to increase staffing and drug searches and look at contracting with outside hospitals and treatment centers for ill and addicted people in jail.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 29 May 2026
The division took over internal affairs investigations for the sheriff’s department, which runs Denver’s jails and provides security in the city’s courts.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
Officials at the three jails either declined comment or didn't return messages.
—CBS News, 27 May 2026
After the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel by Hamas and the kidnapping of 251 people to Gaza, Ben-Gvir took a series of inflammatory measures that worsened conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
—Avi Issacharoff, The Atlantic, 22 May 2026
The county Sheriff’s Office, which runs the county jails, told this news organization that Castillo was fired in November 2024.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 19 May 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
Each of them was taken to Kentucky jails for detention, but the government separated them and held them in different facilities.
—Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
To address custody deaths in Los Angeles County jails, Bornman wants to increase staffing and drug searches and look at contracting with outside hospitals and treatment centers for ill and addicted people in jail.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 29 May 2026
The division took over internal affairs investigations for the sheriff’s department, which runs Denver’s jails and provides security in the city’s courts.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
Officials at the three jails either declined comment or didn't return messages.
—CBS News, 27 May 2026
After the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel by Hamas and the kidnapping of 251 people to Gaza, Ben-Gvir took a series of inflammatory measures that worsened conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
—Avi Issacharoff, The Atlantic, 22 May 2026
The county Sheriff’s Office, which runs the county jails, told this news organization that Castillo was fired in November 2024.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 19 May 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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Dees was one of hundreds of men being housed out of state in private prisons.—
Alex Brizee,
Idaho Statesman,
29 May 2026
-
Colorado voters passed Amendment A, a ballot measure touted as an end to slavery in state prisons in 2018.—
Julia Bowling,
The Conversation,
29 May 2026
Verb
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County leaders vowed to legally oppose the facility, pointing to county zoning laws that do not allow for detention centers or any type of facility that holds or imprisons people on county land.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
28 May 2026
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But such judgments often come from a place of distance—from people who have never lived under a theocracy that imprisons, tortures, and kills with impunity.—
Nazanin Boniadi,
Time,
11 Mar. 2026
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
Verb
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Today, Rikers incarcerates approximately sixty-seven hundred people—most of whom are in pretrial detention, others who are serving terms of less than a year—in facilities that are within New York City while also being out of sight and largely out of reach.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jails. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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