cellmate

noun

cell·​mate ˈsel-ˌmāt How to pronounce cellmate (audio)
variants or less commonly cell mate
plural cellmates also cell mates
: a person who shares a prison cell with another prisoner
When his cellmates learned that his bond had been set at $1 million (and bail at $500,000), they broke into laughter and shook their heads in disbelief.Richard Behar
Within a week, guards came by at night and told me to get ready. … I said goodbye to my cellmates and gathered my things …Clare Morgana Gillis

Examples of cellmate in a Sentence

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.
The third cellmate told sheriff’s investigators that Van Tine had threatened Mehran. Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 July 2025 In April 2014, Bess was convicted of killing his cellmate, Jeffery Sills, with a razor blade and belt in the same prison, South Central Correctional Facility, an incident report obtained by The Tennessean shows. Evan Mealins, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025 Detectives met with his cellmate, who began keeping notes on each time Jenkins would ask him to kill the woman. Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 27 June 2025 Unbeknownst to her, though, Devon has been getting a whole lotta interesting information on Kiki from her drunk cellmate (comedian Cat Cohen, in a bit of pitch-perfect casting). Caroline Framke, Vulture, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for cellmate

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cellmate was in 1839

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cellmate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cellmate. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!