A prisoner is a person who is kept in a prison as a punishment for a crime that they have committed.
The committee is concerned about the large number of prisoners sharing cells.
Synonyms: convict, con [slang], lag [slang], jailbird More Synonyms of prisoner
2. countable noun [oft hold/take n N]
A prisoner is a person who has been captured by an enemy, for example in war.
...wartime hostages and concentration-camp prisoners.
He was held prisoner in Vietnam from 1966 to 1973.
He was taken prisoner in North Africa in 1942.
Synonyms: captive, hostage, detainee, internee More Synonyms of prisoner
3. countable noun
If you say that you are a prisoner of a situation, you mean that you are trapped by it.
We are all prisoners of our childhood and feel an obligation to it. [+ of]
She was a prisoner of her own ego.
prisoner in British English
(ˈprɪzənə)
noun
1.
a person deprived of liberty and kept in prison or some other form of custody as a punishment for a crime, while awaiting trial, or for some other reason
2.
a person confined by any of various restraints
we are all prisoners of time
3. take no prisoners
4. take someone prisoner
prisoner in American English
(ˈprɪznər; ˈprɪzənər)
noun
1.
a person confined in prison, as for some crime
2.
a person held in custody
3.
a person captured or held captive
often in metaphorical usage
a prisoner of love
Word origin
ME < OFr prisonier
Examples of 'prisoner' in a sentence
prisoner
The huge growth in prisoner numbers is due to sentence inflation.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He takes no prisoners at all.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
This government abolished the death penalty, got rid of the secret police and granted an amnesty for political prisoners.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It doesn't take any prisoners.
The Sun (2016)
More than 1,000 men were killed and 2,000 taken prisoner.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She grew up in Surrey before meeting a German prisoner of war.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
At least 42 people were arrested in the east of the island, to derail a planned protest calling for the release of political prisoners.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Common problems include drones being used to deliver drugs, mobile phones and food to prisoners and to capture footage of football matches and concerts from open-air stadiums.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There are enough prisoners whose crimes fit the bill.
The Sun (2016)
Hundreds of political prisoners have been freed.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The record number of police and a record number of prisoners may also have helped.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They are thought to have claimed millions in legal aid while representing foreign prisoners and combatants.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
They can only be taken as prisoners.
The Sun (2014)
To say how prisoners spend their time on leave is up to individuals is totally unacceptable.
The Sun (2015)
There were no planned atrocities committed by the military on prisoners of war or on civilians.
Grenville, J. A. S. The Collins History of the World in the 20th Century (1994)
New coalition policies published this week did not include plans for managing prisoner numbers.
The Sun (2010)
Prisoners bearing foreign passports would become hostages.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Spot checks rarely take place on prisoners with their own medicine.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Ministers are seeking compulsory agreements that offer foreign prisoners no option other than repatriation.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Australian cricketers take no prisoners but they do give hostages to fortune.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
They run the risk of becoming prisoners at any time.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But there was still the problem of detainees and both sides seemed to hold a large number of prisoners.
Stewart, Bob (Lt-Col) Broken Lives (1993)
Then there are confidence skills workshops, and projects focusing on knife crime involving prisoners and offenders.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He is charged with causing the deaths of 103 political prisoners.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The original intention had been that it would hold 1000 prisoners.
Coyle, Andrew & Stern, Vivien The Prisons We Deserve (1994)
His years as a Vietnamese prisoner of war make him a war hero.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
I didn't think it would be a good idea for them to be handing out such information to enemy prisoners.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
A weather presenter who grew into a giant after being exposed to radiation is captured by the government and held prisoner with a group of strange creatures.
The Sun (2010)
Quotations
Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contractsNelson Mandela
In other languages
prisoner
British English: prisoner /ˈprɪzənə/ NOUN
A prisoner is a person who is kept in a prison as a punishment or because they have been captured by an enemy.
...the large number of prisoners sharing cells.
American English: prisoner
Arabic: سَجِيـن
Brazilian Portuguese: prisioneiro
Chinese: 囚犯
Croatian: zatvorenik
Czech: vězeň
Danish: fange
Dutch: gevangene
European Spanish: prisionero
Finnish: vanki
French: prisonnier
German: Häftling
Greek: φυλακισμένος
Italian: prigioniero
Japanese: 囚人
Korean: 죄수
Norwegian: innsatt
Polish: więzień
European Portuguese: prisioneiro
Romanian: prizonier
Russian: арестант
Latin American Spanish: prisionero
Swedish: fånge
Thai: ผู้ถูกขัง
Turkish: mahkum
Ukrainian: в'язень
Vietnamese: phạm nhân
All related terms of 'prisoner'
ghost prisoner
a prisoner, esp one held in US military captivity , whose detention is not publicly acknowledged
remand prisoner
a prisoner who is sent back into custody (or sometimes admitted to bail ) to await trial or continuation of their trial
political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone who has been imprisoned for criticizing or disagreeing with their own government.
prisoner of war
Prisoners of war are soldiers who have been captured by their enemy during a war and kept as prisoners until the end of the war.
prisoner's base
a children's game involving two teams , members of which chase and capture each other to increase the number of children in their own base
prisoner's dilemma
in game theory, a situation in which, if each of the individuals involved chooses the most rational option for gaining his or her own ends, the least desirable outcome for all will necessarily result
take someone prisoner
to capture and hold someone as a prisoner , esp as a prisoner of war
prisoner of conscience
Prisoners of conscience are people who have been put into prison for their political or social beliefs or for breaking the law while protesting against a political or social system.