a prison sentence the length of which depends on the prisoner's conduct
indeterminate sentence in American English
noun
Criminal Law
a penalty, imposed by a court, that has relatively wide limits or no limits, as one of imprisonment for one to ten years
Word origin
[1870–75]This word is first recorded in the period 1870–75. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Mafia, Victorian, onshore, upgrade, washout
Examples of 'indeterminate sentence' in a sentence
indeterminate sentence
He got his wish with an indeterminate sentence.
The Sun (2009)
He got an indeterminate sentence, with a minimum six years.
The Sun (2010)
There were two types of indeterminate sentence: life imprisonment and imprisonmentfor public protection.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
He got an indeterminate sentence and must serve at least nine months.