jail
noun /dʒeɪl/
/dʒeɪl/
(also British English, old-fashioned gaol)
[uncountable, countable]- a prison
- She spent a year in jail.
- He has been released from jail.
- a ten-year jail sentence
- Britain’s overcrowded jails
Collocations Criminal justiceCriminal justiceBreaking the law- break/violate/obey/uphold the law
- be investigated/arrested/tried for a crime/a robbery/fraud
- be arrested/ (especially North American English) indicted/convicted on charges of rape/fraud/(especially US English) felony charges
- be arrested on suspicion of arson/robbery/shoplifting
- be accused of/be charged with murder/(especially North American English) homicide/four counts of fraud
- face two charges of indecent assault
- admit your guilt/liability/responsibility (for something)
- deny the allegations/claims/charges
- confess to a crime
- grant/be refused/be released on/skip/jump bail
- stand/await/bring somebody to/come to/be on trial
- take somebody to/come to/settle something out of court
- face/avoid/escape prosecution
- seek/retain/have the right to/be denied access to legal counsel
- hold/conduct/attend/adjourn a hearing/trial
- sit on/influence/persuade/convince the jury
- sit/stand/appear/be put/place somebody in the dock
- plead guilty/not guilty to a crime
- be called to/enter (British English) the witness box
- take/put somebody on the stand/(North American English) the witness stand
- call/subpoena/question/cross-examine a witness
- give/hear the evidence against/on behalf of somebody
- raise/withdraw/overrule an objection
- reach a unanimous/majority verdict
- return/deliver/record a verdict of not guilty/unlawful killing/accidental death
- convict/acquit the defendant of the crime
- secure a conviction/your acquittal
- lodge/file an appeal
- appeal (against)/challenge/uphold/overturn a conviction/verdict
- pass sentence on somebody
- carry/face/serve a seven-year/life sentence
- receive/be given the death penalty
- be sentenced to ten years (in prison/jail)
- carry/impose/pay a fine (of $3 000)/a penalty (of 14 years imprisonment)
- be imprisoned/jailed for drug possession/fraud/murder
- do/serve time/ten years
- be sent to/put somebody in/be released from jail/prison
- be/put somebody/spend X years on death row
- be granted/be denied/break (your) parole
Grammar Point schoolschool- When a school is being referred to as an institution, you do not need to use the:
- When do the children finish school?
- I’ll meet you outside the school.
- Her husband spent three years in prison.
Culture prisonsprisonsBritain's system of justice relies heavily on imprisonment as a form of punishment. Until the late 18th century conditions in prisons such as Newgate were dirty and violent. In the 19th century conditions improved, thanks to the work of reformers like Elizabeth Fry. New prisons were built, in which most prisoners had their own cell (= small room) facing into a large central area. Many of these prisons, such as Pentonville and Strangeways (HM Prison Manchester), still exist today, although Strangeways had to be rebuilt after most of the building was destroyed in riots (= violent protests) in the 1990s.The type of prison in which criminals serve their sentence depends on their category. Category A prisoners are considered dangerous and are held in maximum security closed prisons. Prisoners may be kept in solitary confinement (= alone and without contact with other prisoners) if they are likely to harm others or to be harmed by them. Category B and C prisoners are also held in closed prisons. Category D prisoners are trusted not to escape and are sent to low-security open prisons. Prisoners on remand (= waiting for their trial) should be held in remand centres, but because there is not enough space, many of them are kept in prisons. Young people aged 15–20 are normally sent to young offender institutions, sometimes called youth detention centres or youth custody centres. However, if space is not available young people are sometimes sent to adult prisons. A prison is run by a governor who is responsible to the Ministry of Justice, and the prisoners are guarded by warders. There are also some private prisons in Britain that are managed by private companies. They must follow rules that are set by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons.There is not enough space available in prisons for the number of people being given custodial sentences (= being sent to prison). In the 1990s there were riots at several prisons because of poor conditions. Cells intended for one person often contain two or three.In the US the federal (= national) and state governments have prisons, sometimes called penitentiaries or correctional facilities. Counties and cities have jails. Federal prisons are minimum, low, medium or high security. All inmates (= prisoners) who can work must do so. People are sent to a prison if their sentence is for several years. If the sentence is a year or less they are sent to jail. Some prisoners on work release are allowed to leave jail during the day to go to a job. Prisoners often spend the last few months of their sentence in a halfway house where they are helped to prepare for life outside prison.In the US people who are waiting for their trial often do not go to prison but instead make bail (= pay money to the court) as a guarantee that they will return for the trial. People sent to prison as punishment rarely serve their full sentence but after some time are released on parole, which means they must report regularly to a government official. It is possible that two people who have committed the same crime may receive different punishments. To stop this happening some states have introduced mandatory sentencing, which means that the punishment for a crime is fixed by law, not decided by a judge.Extra ExamplesTopics Crime and punishmentb2- He's gone to jail for fraud.
- His lawyer worked hard to keep him out of jail.
- How long has she been in jail?
- She avoided jail by pleading insanity.
- She could be out of jail in two years.
- He was held overnight at the county jail.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- city
- county
- local
- …
- go to
- put somebody in
- send somebody to
- …
- sentence
- term
- time
- …
- at a/the jail
- in (a/the) jail
Word OriginMiddle English: based on Latin cavea. The word came into English in two forms, jaiole from Old French and gayole from Anglo-Norman French gaole (surviving in the spelling gaol), originally pronounced with a hard g, as in goat.