as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
Deacon Brodie, thought to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, was publicly hung at the site of the old tolbooth of Edinburgh
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tolbooth
Noun
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The new commissioner faces the daunting task of improving the existing jail while planning for a world without it.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026 -
The singer, who did not appear in court, avoided jail time by pleading guilty to the lesser charge; Spears initially faced one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
10 May 2026
Noun
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Her foundation said she has been granted a prison sentence suspension on bail.—
Sarah el Deeb,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
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Broderick was rushed from the California Institution for Women, the prison where she was being held, to a medical facility on April 18.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
10 May 2026
Noun
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In the early 1970s, the penitentiary remained poorly funded, and prison officials hoped to make money on the rodeo.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 May 2026
-
Al Capone was transferred by train to a federal penitentiary in Atlanta.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
4 May 2026
Noun
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Word around baseball is all the losing has turned the Mets clubhouse, which has already been fractured these past couple years, into a joyless brig.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
2 May 2026
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Crews uncovered the marble slab while excavating the site of the Mentor, a brig owned by Thomas Bruce, the British soldier and diplomat known as Lord Elgin, according to Greece's Ministry of Culture and BBC News, a CBS News partner.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
19 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Tolbooth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tolbooth. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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