as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
they ended up in the hoosegow for disorderly conduct
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of hoosegow
Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park Carved from granite cliffs overlooking the Colorado River, Yuma Prison was the Old West’s most notorious hoosegow, garnering a fearsome reputation.
—
Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2025
In prison, there are Keene’s encounters with a real-life mob boss and a manipulative guard to add tension, and just enough mayhem to remind you that this is no ordinary hoosegow.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2022
Her ex — still in the hoosegow in Los Angeles — was tried and sentenced to a two-year stretch at San Quentin.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2022
From 1868 to 1890, legend says Wickenburg scofflaws were chained to a mesquite tree that served as the town hoosegow.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 28 Nov. 2020
Most famously, in 1968 Johnny Cash serenaded state inmates at the max-security Folsom Prison in California, later turning the hoosegow act into a live album titled At Folsom Prison.
—Keri Blakinger, Houston Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2019
Carved from a granite cliff overlooking the Colorado River, this was America’s most notorious 19th century hoosegow.
—Roger Naylor, azcentral, 4 Oct. 2019
And Blankenship has charged that Manchin, who was governor at the time of the mine explosion, conspired with Barack Obama (not a popular figure in West Virginia) to send him to the hoosegow.
—Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 20 Mar. 2018
And worse yet from the governor’s point of view, the prosecutor with jurisdiction over these matters is the same one trying to send him to the hoosegow for the privacy and blackmail charge, St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner.
—Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 17 Apr. 2018
Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2025
In prison, there are Keene’s encounters with a real-life mob boss and a manipulative guard to add tension, and just enough mayhem to remind you that this is no ordinary hoosegow.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2022
Her ex — still in the hoosegow in Los Angeles — was tried and sentenced to a two-year stretch at San Quentin.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2022
From 1868 to 1890, legend says Wickenburg scofflaws were chained to a mesquite tree that served as the town hoosegow.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 28 Nov. 2020
Most famously, in 1968 Johnny Cash serenaded state inmates at the max-security Folsom Prison in California, later turning the hoosegow act into a live album titled At Folsom Prison.
—Keri Blakinger, Houston Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2019
Carved from a granite cliff overlooking the Colorado River, this was America’s most notorious 19th century hoosegow.
—Roger Naylor, azcentral, 4 Oct. 2019
And Blankenship has charged that Manchin, who was governor at the time of the mine explosion, conspired with Barack Obama (not a popular figure in West Virginia) to send him to the hoosegow.
—Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 20 Mar. 2018
And worse yet from the governor’s point of view, the prosecutor with jurisdiction over these matters is the same one trying to send him to the hoosegow for the privacy and blackmail charge, St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner.
—Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 17 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoosegow
Noun
-
As Ortega is held at a Rikers Island jail pending his next court appearance, police are still working to track down his machete-wielding partner in crime and are asking for the public’s help in identifying him.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Willie Frank Peterson, 52, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 2023, and was sentenced to six years and three months in jail.—
Andrea Margolis,
Fox News,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Three days later, his immigration attorney was able to reach an ICE official who confirmed that his client was in a prison in another country.—
Brian Bennett,
TIME,
21 Mar. 2025
-
With inmate suicide rates at an all-time high, U.S. District Senior Judge Kimberly Mueller said her aim is to force changes in California’s prison mental health system, which a federal judge in 1995 deemed to be so poor as to constitute cruel and unusual punishment.—
Paige St. John,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
In Oklahoma, 56-year-old Wendell Grissom was declared dead by lethal injection at the penitentiary in McAlester at 10:13 a.m.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
21 Mar. 2025
-
Salvador's Presidency Press Office via AFP - Getty Images Origins in prison Tren de Aragua began in the 2000s in a notorious penitentiary in north-central Venezuela, where gang leaders at one point had their own zoo, nightclub and bank inside the prison.—
David Noriega,
NBC News,
18 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hoosegow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoosegow. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share