1
: a person deprived of liberty and kept under involuntary restraint, confinement, or custody
especially
: one on trial or in prison
2
: someone restrained as if in prison
a prisoner of her own conscience
see also take-no-prisoners, take no prisoners
Examples of prisoner in a Sentence
He was captured by rebel forces and kept as their prisoner for several months before they set him free.
The families were held prisoner for four days.
Recent Examples on the Web
The rate is much higher among CEOs: in fact, the consensus among researchers is that CEOs are almost as likely as prisoners to be psychopathic.
—
Gautam Mukunda, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024
The last prisoner to be killed by firing squad happened in Utah in 2010.
—Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 26 Sep. 2024
The visit was to talk about a rehabilitation project for prisoners to spruce up prison yards, which has supposedly been spearheaded by the brothers.
—Lucy Ford, TIME, 24 Sep. 2024
According to a lawsuit filed on behalf of the prisoners, inmates were reportedly confined to their cells for days on end, and forced to endure non-functioning toilets inside cells and other unsanitary conditions.
—Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prisoner 
Gautam Mukunda, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024
The last prisoner to be killed by firing squad happened in Utah in 2010.
—Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 26 Sep. 2024
The visit was to talk about a rehabilitation project for prisoners to spruce up prison yards, which has supposedly been spearheaded by the brothers.
—Lucy Ford, TIME, 24 Sep. 2024
According to a lawsuit filed on behalf of the prisoners, inmates were reportedly confined to their cells for days on end, and forced to endure non-functioning toilets inside cells and other unsanitary conditions.
—Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prisoner
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prisoner.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Prisoner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prisoner. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prisoner
noun
pris·on·er
ˈpriz-nər 
-ᵊn-ər
: a person who has been captured or locked up
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