1
: a person deprived of liberty and kept under involuntary restraint, confinement, or custody
especially
: one on trial or in prison
2
: someone restrained as if in prison
a prisoner of her own conscience
see also take-no-prisoners, take no prisoners
Examples of prisoner in a Sentence
He was captured by rebel forces and kept as their prisoner for several months before they set him free.
The families were held prisoner for four days.
Recent Examples on the Web
In August, the Biden administration secured the release of several Americans in a prisoner swap with the Russian government, including Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
—
Chris Wade | The Center Square Contributor, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Oct. 2024
After calls for inquiry into the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison, Zimbardo was named to the commission.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2024
Harris responded by noting a recent New York Times report that federal prisoners had received gender affirming care during Trump’s administration.
—Jennifer Epstein and Hadriana Lowenkron / Bloomberg, TIME, 17 Oct. 2024
Reuters He was released early, however, in a highly controversial prisoner swap in 2011 that saw more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners exchanged for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who had been abducted by Hamas five years prior.
—Ece Yildirim,ruxandra Iordache,natasha Turak, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prisoner 
Chris Wade | The Center Square Contributor, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Oct. 2024
After calls for inquiry into the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison, Zimbardo was named to the commission.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2024
Harris responded by noting a recent New York Times report that federal prisoners had received gender affirming care during Trump’s administration.
—Jennifer Epstein and Hadriana Lowenkron / Bloomberg, TIME, 17 Oct. 2024
Reuters He was released early, however, in a highly controversial prisoner swap in 2011 that saw more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners exchanged for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who had been abducted by Hamas five years prior.
—Ece Yildirim,ruxandra Iordache,natasha Turak, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prisoner
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prisoner.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Prisoner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prisoner. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prisoner
noun
pris·on·er
ˈpriz-nər 
-ᵊn-ər
: a person who has been captured or locked up
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