1
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
specifically
: such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (such as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes compare prison
2
: confinement in a jail
sentenced to jail
Examples of jail in a Sentence
Noun
He was locked up in the county jail.
He was arrested and sent to jail.
He went to jail for his crimes.
He just got out of jail a few weeks ago.
He was kept in jail overnight.
Verb
threatened to jail the punks if they so much as jaywalked
Recent Examples on the Web
Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
McKee is awaiting extradition from the Winnebago County jail in Rockford, Illinois, where he's being held.
—Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
Schools were closed, books were burned, educators were beaten and sometimes killed, political rivals were jailed or sent to re-education camps.
—Arkansas Online, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for jail
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Noun
What To Watch For The contempt vote will be held Wednesday, though jail time for the Clintons does not appear to be an imminent threat as the family prepares for a potential legal battle over their subpoena compliance.
—Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
McKee is awaiting extradition from the Winnebago County jail in Rockford, Illinois, where he's being held.
—Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Verb
Puga remained jailed Wednesday in lieu of $3 million bail, jail records show.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
Schools were closed, books were burned, educators were beaten and sometimes killed, political rivals were jailed or sent to re-education camps.
—Arkansas Online, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for jail
Cite this Entry
“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jail. Accessed 23 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
jail
noun
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
specifically
: such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes compare house of correction, house of detention, lockup, penitentiary, prison
jail
transitive verb
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