jailbreak

1 of 2

noun

jail·​break ˈjāl-ˌbrāk How to pronounce jailbreak (audio)
: a forcible escape from jail

jailbreak

2 of 2

verb

jailbroke ˈjāl-ˌbrōk How to pronounce jailbreak (audio) ; jailbreaking; jailbreaks

transitive verb

: to remove built-in limitations from (an electronic device, such as a cell phone)
I'm not trying to be overly snarky here, but for … in-house app distribution, I see no need or advantage to jailbreaking an iOS device.John Welch
Last week we learned you can jailbreak every current model of Kindle.Thorin Klosowski
Apple makes it nearly impossible for the average user to download apps from anywhere else unless you jailbreak your phone.Peter Wells

Examples of jailbreak in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
These often fall into two broad categories: jailbreaks and prompt injections. Matt Burgess, WIRED, 17 Oct. 2024 The country has suffered a rash of recent jailbreaks. Stuart A. Reid, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2017
Verb
This makes sure that the models can stand up to attempts to jailbreak them or manipulate them in other ways. Janakiram Msv, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2024 The developers are trying to tamp down users’ ability to jailbreak their systems and put those systems to nefarious work, such as that highlighted by Shah, Pour and their colleagues. Chris Stokel-Walker, Scientific American, 6 Dec. 2023 See all Example Sentences for jailbreak 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jailbreak.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1910, in the meaning defined above

Verb

2007, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of jailbreak was in 1910

Dictionary Entries Near jailbreak

Cite this Entry

“Jailbreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jailbreak. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

jailbreak

noun
jail·​break -ˌbrāk How to pronounce jailbreak (audio)
: an escape from jail by use of force

More from Merriam-Webster on jailbreak

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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