big house

noun

often capitalized B&H

slang

: penitentiary

Synonyms

• bastille
• bridewell
• brig
• calaboose
• can
• clink [slang]
• cooler
• coop
• guardroom
• hock
• hold
• hoosegow
• jail
• jailhouse
• joint [slang]
• jug
• lockup
• nick [British slang]
• pen
• penitentiary
• pokey [slang]
• prison
• quod [British slang]
• slam
• slammer
• stir [slang]
• stockade
• tolbooth [Scottish]

Examples of big house in a Sentence

told harrowing stories of his years spent in the big house

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above