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
Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
Audio clips from Wolff’s August 2017 interview with Epstein — two years before he was found dead in a jail cell — can be found at the Daily Beast’s website.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2024
Saied has jailed many other activists and opponents.
—Sarah E. Yerkes, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for jail 
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.
Noun
Tekashi is expected to plead guilty on November 12 to violating supervised release and agree to serve a one-month jail sentence, and another year of supervision, according to the Associated Press.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
Audio clips from Wolff’s August 2017 interview with Epstein — two years before he was found dead in a jail cell — can be found at the Daily Beast’s website.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
They had both been jailed since May 2022, with Thug earring his freedom under a plea deal on Oct. 31.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2024
Saied has jailed many other activists and opponents.
—Sarah E. Yerkes, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for jail
Dictionary Entries Near jail
Cite this Entry
“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jail. Accessed 24 Nov. 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