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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This center could break that cycle by getting them the specialized treatment that the jail cannot and does not provide.—
Jim DeFede,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026 -
Ramsey, 53, has been held in a Dallas County, Iowa, jail since March 17, with bail set at $2 million.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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He was beaten by security forces, arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2026
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During his 12-year pontificate, Francis famously celebrated the Holy Thursday ritual by traveling to Rome-area prisons and refugee centers to wash the feet of people most on society’s margins.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The government opened the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz in 1934, hoping to use the remote island to house particularly difficult prisoners, according to the National Park Service.—
Justine McDaniel,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Apr. 2026
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But Wood’s penitentiary is considerably sturdier.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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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Rules of engagement are also on the law books, so--if for no other reason--American troops follow them to stay out of the brig.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Tolbooth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tolbooth. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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