: any of a group occupying a single place of residence
especially
: a person confined (as in a prison or hospital)
Examples of inmate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Dale Huttle served about six months of a 2 1/2-year sentence at FCI Thomson, a federal prison near the Illinois-Iowa border, before he was released on Jan. 20, according to a federal inmate search.
—
Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2025
Fellow inmate Christopher Scarver bludgeoned the serial killer and another inmate to death in 1994.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
The Texas agency responsible for regulating county jails has failed for years to ensure that all inmate deaths are investigated by independent third-party law enforcement agencies, a key provision of the state’s 2017 Sandra Bland Act.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Feb. 2025
Seven years later, the death row inmate started corresponding with Gilbert.
—Emily Blackwood, People.com, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inmate
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Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2025
Fellow inmate Christopher Scarver bludgeoned the serial killer and another inmate to death in 1994.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
The Texas agency responsible for regulating county jails has failed for years to ensure that all inmate deaths are investigated by independent third-party law enforcement agencies, a key provision of the state’s 2017 Sandra Bland Act.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Feb. 2025
Seven years later, the death row inmate started corresponding with Gilbert.
—Emily Blackwood, People.com, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inmate
Cite this Entry
“Inmate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inmate. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
inmate
noun
in·mate
ˈin-ˌmāt 
: a member of a group living in a single residence
especially
: a person kept in an institution (as a hospital or prison)
Medical Definition
inmate
noun
in·mate
ˈin-ˌmāt
: one of a group occupying a single place of residence
especially
: a person confined (as in a psychiatric hospital) especially for a long time
Legal Definition
inmate
noun
in·mate
ˈin-ˌmāt
: a person confined in an institution (as a prison or hospital)
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