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
Juan Cordoba, Arkansas Online, 12 Jan. 2026
Stewart visited three county jails in 2024 and found major lapses in medical and mental health care.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
He was transported to the Krome immigration detention center outside Miami, then to one in Texas, then back and forth between Krome, a federal prison in Miami, other local county jails and another immigration detention center in north Florida.
—Natalia Jaramillo, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2026
Under those agreements, local jails can hold inmates for up to 48 hours so ICE can take custody of undocumented individuals.
—Heather Hunter, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
According to Venezuelan journalist and former political prisoner Luis Carlos Díaz, detainees of at least 25 nationalities are imprisoned in some 90 jails.
—Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
Buying the warehouses of the type often used by Amazon and other online retailers could allow federal officials to exempt themselves from many local zoning restrictions and oversight rules governing private or state-run prisons and jails.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is leading a 23-state coalition urging the Federal Communications Commission to allow states to use jamming technology to block contraband cell phones inside prisons and jails.
—Christopher Harris, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
At the county level, there also law enforcement agencies like the sheriff’s office, as well as jails and courts.
—Shawn Raymundo, AZCentral.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Kim Aris, Time, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
Some of those people have been arrested directly by ICE agents while others have been arrested by other law enforcement agencies, placed on immigration holds within county jails and then arrested by ICE while being held.
—Juan Cordoba, Arkansas Online, 12 Jan. 2026
Stewart visited three county jails in 2024 and found major lapses in medical and mental health care.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
He was transported to the Krome immigration detention center outside Miami, then to one in Texas, then back and forth between Krome, a federal prison in Miami, other local county jails and another immigration detention center in north Florida.
—Natalia Jaramillo, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2026
Under those agreements, local jails can hold inmates for up to 48 hours so ICE can take custody of undocumented individuals.
—Heather Hunter, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
According to Venezuelan journalist and former political prisoner Luis Carlos Díaz, detainees of at least 25 nationalities are imprisoned in some 90 jails.
—Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
Buying the warehouses of the type often used by Amazon and other online retailers could allow federal officials to exempt themselves from many local zoning restrictions and oversight rules governing private or state-run prisons and jails.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is leading a 23-state coalition urging the Federal Communications Commission to allow states to use jamming technology to block contraband cell phones inside prisons and jails.
—Christopher Harris, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
At the county level, there also law enforcement agencies like the sheriff’s office, as well as jails and courts.
—Shawn Raymundo, AZCentral.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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
-
Foucault did not want simply to write a history of prisons but to produce an account of how power circulates in modern society—not merely through the carceral system but also in universities, medical institutions, the workplace, and the military.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The initiative currently runs three times a year at four California prisons.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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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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
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After his conviction, Gray was sent to Angola, one of the most violent penitentiaries in the country at the time.—
Richard A. Webster,
ProPublica,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jails. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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