incarcerate

verb

in·​car·​cer·​ate in-ˈkär-sə-ˌrāt How to pronounce incarcerate (audio)
incarcerated; incarcerating

transitive verb

1
: to put in prison
2
: to subject to confinement

Did you know?

Just as English is full of nouns referring to places where prisoners are confined, from the familiar (jail and prison) to the obscure (calaboose and bridewell), so we have multiple verbs for the action of putting people behind bars. Some words can be used as both nouns and verbs, if in slightly different forms: one can be jailed in a jail, imprisoned in a prison, locked up in a lockup, or even jugged in a jug. Incarcerate does not have such a noun equivalent in English—incarceration refers to the state of confinement rather than a physical structure—but it comes ultimately from the Latin noun carcer, meaning “prison.” Incarcerate is also on the formal end of the spectrum when it comes to words related to the law and criminal justice, meaning you are more likely to read or hear about someone incarcerated in a penitentiary or detention center than in the pokey or hoosegow.

Examples of incarcerate in a Sentence

the state incarcerated over 1900 people last year
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This month, Eastman, working with prison librarians across the country, set up a GoFundMe page through Chevalier’s to raise funds to purchase books for the incarcerated. Erik Pedersen, Orange County Register, 15 Nov. 2024 Hundreds of thousands of people were arrested and incarcerated each year for selling and dispensing marijuana, with the harms falling disproportionately on Black people. Marin Cogan, Vox, 4 Nov. 2024 The program comes at a time when national data reveals that formerly incarcerated people have an unemployed rate of more than 27%. Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 4 Nov. 2024 Manzanar was one of 10 camps where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans — the vast majority of them U.S. citizens born and raised in this country — were incarcerated during World War II. Hunter Clauss, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for incarcerate 

Word History

Etymology

Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- + carcer prison

First Known Use

1575, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of incarcerate was in 1575

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Dictionary Entries Near incarcerate

Cite this Entry

“Incarcerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarcerate. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

incarcerate

verb
in·​car·​cer·​ate in-ˈkär-sə-ˌrāt How to pronounce incarcerate (audio)
incarcerated; incarcerating
: to put in prison : confine
incarceration noun

Legal Definition

incarcerate

transitive verb
in·​car·​cer·​ate in-ˈkär-sə-ˌrāt How to pronounce incarcerate (audio)
incarcerated; incarcerating
incarceration noun
Etymology

Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison

More from Merriam-Webster on incarcerate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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