pokeys

noun

plural of pokey, slang
as in penitentiaries
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody joked about the time he passed out on the street and woke up in the pokey

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pokeys
  1. penitentiaries
  2. jails
  3. prisons
  4. brigs
Noun
  • Mexico has 276 prisons, including 14 federal penitentiaries and 249 state prisons.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Hodge says he was abused in multiple federal penitentiaries, but was frequently blocked from filing complaints about it.
    — Christie Thompson, NPR, 13 July 2026
Definition of penitentiaries
Noun
  • At least two unmarked vehicles were parked in the area of the jails Wednesday.
    — Mona Darwish, Oc Register, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Under the ordinance, all healthcare facilities will be required to allow the partners of a patient to visit, as will jails in the city’s jurisdiction.
    — Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of jails
Noun
  • Afterward, Suzanne Agnew began serving her prison term at the Denver Women's Correctional Facility, the largest of the two women's prisons in Colorado's system.
    — Logan Smith, CBS News, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Even visiting in prisons with people who have committed terrible crimes.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of prisons
Noun
  • Cruise ships have brigs – or onboard jails – where they may be held, or they could be confined to their cabins, The Points Guy reported.
    — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 15 July 2026
Definition of brigs
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.

Browse Nearby Words

pokey
pokeys
pokily
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Cite this Entry

“Pokeys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pokeys. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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