Borstal

noun

Bor·​stal ˈbȯr-stᵊl How to pronounce Borstal (audio)
British

Examples of Borstal in a Sentence

She was sent to Borstal for stealing cars. He spent a year in a Borstal.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Next up is performing live at a pub full of old sods and one barmaid with an Instagram account; terrified of jeopardizing his day job, JJ hits the turntables with a tricolor balaclava hiding his face and finds his inner Beastie Boy/Borstal Boy unleashed. Ty Burr, Washington Post, 1 Aug. 2024 When Lionel Blake—known as Tim—was the manager of Hill Cove Farm, on West Falkland, in the nineteen-sixties, there were juvenile delinquents working there, one of whom had come to the Falklands straight out of Borstal. Larissa MacFarquhar, The New Yorker, 29 June 2020

Word History

Etymology

Borstal, English village where the first such institution was set up

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Borstal was in 1907

Dictionary Entries Near Borstal

Cite this Entry

“Borstal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Borstal. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

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