1
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
specifically
: such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (such as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes compare prison
2
: confinement in a jail
sentenced to jail
Synonyms
Examples of jail in a Sentence
Noun
He was locked up in the county jail.
He was arrested and sent to jail.
He went to jail for his crimes.
He just got out of jail a few weeks ago.
He was kept in jail overnight.
Verb
threatened to jail the punks if they so much as jaywalked
Recent Examples on the Web
James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
The plea was made in a deal with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office that included no jail time or restitution but a three-year conditional discharge.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025
The three men, captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, are set to be freed Saturday, in the fifth exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel.
—Julia Frankel, Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for jail 
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Noun
There is no criminal complaint, so nobody is at risk of jail time.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
The plea was made in a deal with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office that included no jail time or restitution but a three-year conditional discharge.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
Verb
The plaintiffs were held longer than they normally would have been jailed because Immigration and Customs Enforcement had lodged detainer requests.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025
The three men, captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, are set to be freed Saturday, in the fifth exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel.
—Julia Frankel, Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for jail
Dictionary Entries Near jail
Cite this Entry
“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jail. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
jail
noun
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
specifically
: such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes compare house of correction, house of detention, lockup, penitentiary, prison
jail
transitive verb
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