tolbooth

noun

tol·​booth ˈtō(l)-ˌbüth 

ˈtäl-,

ˈtȯl-

1

Scotland : a town or market hall

2

Scotland : jail, prison

Synonyms

• bastille
• big house [slang]
• bridewell
• brig
• calaboose
• can
• clink [slang]
• cooler
• coop
• guardroom
• hock
• hold
• hoosegow
• jail
• jailhouse
• joint [slang]
• jug
• lockup
• nick [British slang]
• pen
• penitentiary
• pokey [slang]
• prison
• quod [British slang]
• slam
• slammer
• stir [slang]
• stockade

Examples of tolbooth in a Sentence

Deacon Brodie, thought to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, was publicly hung at the site of the old tolbooth of Edinburgh.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English tolbothe, tollbothe tollbooth, town hall, jail

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1