parole

1 of 2

noun

pa·​role pə-ˈrōl 

1

: a promise made with or confirmed by a pledge of one's honor

especially : the promise of a prisoner of war to fulfill stated conditions in consideration of his release

2

: a watchword given only to officers of the guard and of the day

3

: a conditional release of a prisoner serving an indeterminate or unexpired sentence

4

a

: language viewed as a specific individual usage : performance

b

: a linguistic act compare langue

parole adjective

parole

2 of 2

verb

paroled; paroling

transitive verb

: to release (a prisoner) on parole

Examples of parole in a Sentence

Noun

The prisoner will be eligible for parole after three years.

She robbed a bank while out on parole.

The prisoner was released on parole.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Menendez brothers are 30 years into their life sentences without the possibility of parole over their respective first-degree murder charges. —Jenny Goldsberry, The Washington Examiner, 8 Apr. 2025

By ending the use of parole to grant temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of migrants, the DHS is following through on the president's campaign promise of mass deportations. —Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025

Verb

She was paroled and released from parole in 2015, the station reported citing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. —Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 21 Feb. 2025

Lord John suggests that Jamie parole him and set him free to deal with William. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 27 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from French, "speech, expression in words, word, promise," going back to Old French, going back to Gallo-Romance *paraula, going back to Late Latin parabola "comparison, allegory, proverb, discourse, speech"; (sense 4) after the use of parole in this sense by Ferdinand de saussure in Cours de linguistique générale (1916) — more at parable

Verb

derivative of parole entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1776, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for parole

• bankroll
• bedroll
• borehole
• cajole
• catchpole
• charcoal
• condole
• control
• dipole
• downhole
• enroll
• extol

Kids Definition

parole

1 of 2 noun

pa·​role pə-ˈrōl 

: an early release of a prisoner who meets specified requirements

parole

2 of 2 verb

paroled; paroling

: to release on parole

parolee

pə-ˌrō-ˈlē

noun

Medical Definition

parole

noun

pa·​role pə-ˈrōl 

: a conditional release given to a psychiatric patient in a hospital before discharge enabling the patient to visit freely various designated areas on the hospital grounds or beyond its limits

parolable adjective

parole transitive verb

paroled; paroling

Legal Definition

parole

noun

pa·​role pə-ˈrōl 

: a conditional release of a prisoner who has served part of a sentence and who remains under the control of and in the legal custody of a parole authority compare probation

Etymology

Noun

Old French, speech, word, prisoner's word of honor to fulfill stated conditions, from Late Latin parabola speech, parable, from Greek parabolē comparison