jail
1 of 2noun
ˈjāl 
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
jail
2 of 2verb
jailed; jailing; jails
transitive verb
: to confine in or as if in a jail
Synonyms
Noun
- bastille
- big house [slang]
- bridewell
- brig
- calaboose
- can
- clink [slang]
- cooler
- coop
- guardroom
- hock
- hold
- hoosegow
- jailhouse
- joint [slang]
- jug
- lockup
- nick [British slang]
- pen
- penitentiary
- pokey [slang]
- prison
- quod [British slang]
- slam
- slammer
- stir [slang]
- stockade
- tolbooth [Scottish]
Verb
- commit
- confine
- immure
- imprison
- incarcerate
- intern
- jug
- lock (up)
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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 See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Selina Cheng, WSJ, 10 Sep. 2022 Nosair helped plan the attack while still in jail, working in conjunction with Ramzi Yousef, Ackerman said. Fox News, 9 Sep. 2022 Barron, 26, was arrested for a DUI in 2008 and 35-year-old Paris memorably served time in jail in 2007 for her own parole violation. Aili Nahas, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2022 Hoover spent a night in jail in June after she was arrested by the sheriff's department based on a separate allegation of being an authority figure engaging in lewd conduct with a student. Dennis Romero, NBC News, 9 Sep. 2022 First of all, the officer would be fired, in jail, never be able, ever in life, to perform any type of duties as an officer anywhere in the world. ABC News, 9 Sep. 2022 But how that spiraled into two days in jail still eludes him. John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2022 He was also previously sentenced to one year in jail for third-degree assault in 2012, according to court records. Mike Mavredakis, Hartford Courant, 8 Sep. 2022 Gonzales was in jail with Acker, who testified that Gonzales approached him with legal questions. Alene Tchekmedyianstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2022 Fox News, 23 Aug. 2022 The Journal reported in March that India’s government has threatened to jail employees of Twitter, Facebook and its WhatsApp unit in direct response to the companies’ reluctance to comply with data and takedown requests. Newley Purnell, WSJ, 25 May 2021 Instead, the new forms — which contain information about follow-up care instructions, lab results and prescriptions — are required to be completed by hospital staff and then delivered via an arresting officer or deputy to jail medical staff. Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 June 2022 In response, Indian officials threatened to jail Twitter’s executives for defying government orders. Gerry Shih, Washington Post, 16 May 2022 The Texas law doesn't allow the exact scenario Democrats warned of in their letter, that prosecutors could jail women who obtain abortions. Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 25 May 2022 The law says judges cannot jail people for failure to pay court costs, because those are civil penalties. Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 7 Dec. 2021 The law, passed earlier this month, empowers Russian authorities to jail anyone for spreading alleged false information about the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Michael Kan, PCMAG, 25 Mar. 2022 According to Axios, prosecutors are seeking to jail Navalny for 13 years. Brendan Morrow, The Week, 22 Mar. 2022 See More
Noun
Ten people have been found guilty of endangering national security by committing sedition, with penalties ranging from being committed to a rehabilitation center to 40 months in jail. Selina Cheng, WSJ, 10 Sep. 2022 Nosair helped plan the attack while still in jail, working in conjunction with Ramzi Yousef, Ackerman said. Fox News, 9 Sep. 2022 Barron, 26, was arrested for a DUI in 2008 and 35-year-old Paris memorably served time in jail in 2007 for her own parole violation. Aili Nahas, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2022 Hoover spent a night in jail in June after she was arrested by the sheriff's department based on a separate allegation of being an authority figure engaging in lewd conduct with a student. Dennis Romero, NBC News, 9 Sep. 2022 First of all, the officer would be fired, in jail, never be able, ever in life, to perform any type of duties as an officer anywhere in the world. ABC News, 9 Sep. 2022 But how that spiraled into two days in jail still eludes him. John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2022 He was also previously sentenced to one year in jail for third-degree assault in 2012, according to court records. Mike Mavredakis, Hartford Courant, 8 Sep. 2022 Gonzales was in jail with Acker, who testified that Gonzales approached him with legal questions. Alene Tchekmedyianstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2022 Verb
The plea in Central Islip came before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Locke, who had revoked his bond and sent him to jail two weeks ago. Fox News, 23 Aug. 2022 The Journal reported in March that India’s government has threatened to jail employees of Twitter, Facebook and its WhatsApp unit in direct response to the companies’ reluctance to comply with data and takedown requests. Newley Purnell, WSJ, 25 May 2021 Instead, the new forms — which contain information about follow-up care instructions, lab results and prescriptions — are required to be completed by hospital staff and then delivered via an arresting officer or deputy to jail medical staff. Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 June 2022 In response, Indian officials threatened to jail Twitter’s executives for defying government orders. Gerry Shih, Washington Post, 16 May 2022 The Texas law doesn't allow the exact scenario Democrats warned of in their letter, that prosecutors could jail women who obtain abortions. Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 25 May 2022 The law says judges cannot jail people for failure to pay court costs, because those are civil penalties. Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 7 Dec. 2021 The law, passed earlier this month, empowers Russian authorities to jail anyone for spreading alleged false information about the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Michael Kan, PCMAG, 25 Mar. 2022 According to Axios, prosecutors are seeking to jail Navalny for 13 years. Brendan Morrow, The Week, 22 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English jaiole, from Anglo-French gaiole, jaiole, from Late Latin caveola, diminutive of Latin cavea cage — more at cage
First Known Use
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1604, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing jail
Kids Definition
jail 1 of 2
noun
ˈjāl
: prison
jail
2 of 2verb
jailed; jailing
: to shut up in or as if in a prison
Legal Definition
jail
noun
ˈjāl
: 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
jailers
noun
variants also jailors
as in wardens
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- wardens
- captors
- guards
- marshals
- keepers
- custodians
- guardians
- kidnappers
- marshalls
- abductors
- kidnapers
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- prisoners
- captives
- internees
- captures
- convicts
- jailbirds
- co-prisoners
- coprisoners