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
Synonyms
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
Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 26 Sep. 2024
Alex Ray Scott, 28, who began transitioning into a woman in jail, was previously found guilty of the January 2020 killing of Kenneth Savinski, 64, in his Upper East Side apartment with a decorative plate and kitchen knife.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 26 Sep. 2024
Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 27 Sep. 2024
Matt Damon as a father whose daughter (Abigail Breslin) has been jailed in France after being accused of murdering her lover.
—EW.com, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for jail 
Noun
The mogul has been held behind bars in a Brooklyn jail since his arrest and has been denied bail twice after entering a not-guilty plea.
—Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 26 Sep. 2024
Alex Ray Scott, 28, who began transitioning into a woman in jail, was previously found guilty of the January 2020 killing of Kenneth Savinski, 64, in his Upper East Side apartment with a decorative plate and kitchen knife.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 26 Sep. 2024
Verb
He was jailed soon after on marijuana possession charges.
—Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 27 Sep. 2024
Matt Damon as a father whose daughter (Abigail Breslin) has been jailed in France after being accused of murdering her lover.
—EW.com, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for jail
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near jail
Cite this Entry
“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jail. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share