jails 1 of 2

plural of jail

jails

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of jail

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 jails
Noun
As medetomidine spreads across the country, jails that are still inadequately prepared to treat opioid withdrawal alone could face an onslaught of severe cases. Hannah Harris Green, STAT, 26 June 2026 During this time, the singer also had several brushes with the law, staying at various jails and reformatories. Edward Segarra, USA Today, 25 June 2026 That means county jails cannot hold inmates in custody longer than permitted by law, and the failure to timely release inmates can result in civil liability for cities and counties. Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 25 June 2026 The state also created a $250 million grant program for law enforcement agencies and jails seeking new equipment and bonuses for its officers working on immigration enforcement and detainee transport. Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2026 Brittain said cadets are also taught about mental illness and how to treat people who are in jails. Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 June 2026 Correctional Health Services, which administers addiction treatment programs in the jails, said more efforts are needed to prevent drugs from getting into the facilities. Gavin J. Quinton, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026 Leifman has been leading the charge for a facility that judges could use as an alternative to Miami-Dade’s jails for people whose mental illnesses seem to be the main driver behind their lawbreaking. Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 16 June 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
  • In 2025 alone, the foundation says its dogs completed 609 jobs by visiting hospitals, care homes, schools and prisons across Switzerland.
    ABC News, ABC News, 26 June 2026
  • An alleged smuggling ring said to have airdropped drugs, cigarettes, cellphones, weapons and other contraband into 10 federal prisons in the South and Mid-Atlantic was based right here in Macon.
    AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 25 June 2026
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
  • This includes providing the Colombian military more leeway in the field, signing a new security agreement with Washington and building 10 mega-prisons that mimic Bukele’s network of penitentiaries in El Salvador.
    Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2026
  • Behind bars in state penitentiaries in Gatesville and Marlin, Mejia felt forgotten.
    Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Jails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jails. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.

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