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
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
Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2025
Denver Broncos linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite was arrested in Denver on a charge of second-degree assault on a peace officer on Sunday, jail records showed.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 24 Feb. 2025
John Annese, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2025
Being jailed over an email suggests perhaps that there was a restraining order in place already.
—R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 22 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jail
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Noun
Last June, surveillance footage of Chop fighting a man in jail leaked.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2025
Denver Broncos linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite was arrested in Denver on a charge of second-degree assault on a peace officer on Sunday, jail records showed.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 24 Feb. 2025
Verb
His reign didn’t last long — he was jailed by Mexican authorities in February 2019.
—John Annese, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2025
Being jailed over an email suggests perhaps that there was a restraining order in place already.
—R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 22 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jail
Cite this Entry
“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jail. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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
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