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Just as English is full of nouns referring to places where prisoners are confined, from the familiar (jail and prison) to the obscure (calaboose and bridewell), so we have multiple verbs for the action of putting people behind bars. Some words can be used as both nouns and verbs, if in slightly different forms: one can be jailed in a jail, imprisoned in a prison, locked up in a lockup, or even jugged in a jug. Incarcerate does not have such a noun equivalent in English—incarceration refers to the state of confinement rather than a physical structure—but it comes ultimately from the Latin noun carcer, meaning “prison.” Incarcerate is also on the formal end of the spectrum when it comes to words related to the law and criminal justice, meaning you are more likely to read or hear about someone incarcerated in a penitentiary or detention center than in the pokey or hoosegow.
Synonyms
Examples of incarcerate in a Sentence
Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2025
Now, Mackie is joined by his very own Falcon, Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres), and his pal, formerly wrongfully incarcerated Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly).
—Rebecca Aizin, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025
Currently, Amanda is incarcerated at a Residential Reentry Management (RRM) facility in Long Beach, California—a sort of halfway house to transition to life outside of prison.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2025
Combs has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY, since his arrest on September 16, 2024.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for incarcerate 
Dictionary Entries Near incarcerate
Cite this Entry
“Incarcerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarcerate. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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incarcerate
verb
Legal Definition
incarcerate
transitive verb
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison
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