Prison

//ˈpɹɪzn̩// noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A place or institution where people are held against their will, in the US especially for long-term confinement, as of those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government. countable, uncountable

    "The cold stone walls of the prison had stood for over a century."

  2. 2
    a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment wordnet
  3. 3
    Confinement in prison. uncountable

    "Prison was a harrowing experience for him."

  4. 4
    a prisonlike situation; a place of seeming confinement wordnet
  5. 5
    Any restrictive environment, such as a harsh academy or home. colloquial, countable, figuratively, uncountable

    "The academy was a prison for many of its students because of its strict teachers."

Verb
  1. 1
    To imprison. transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
jailbridewellgaolbastillebig housebig house

Example

More examples

"The murderer was convicted and sentenced to life in prison."

Etymology

From Middle English prisoun, prison, from Old English prisūn, a borrowing from Old French prison, from Latin prehensiōnem, accusative singular of prehensiō, from the verb prehendō. Doublet of prehension.

Related phrases

debtors' prisondispersal prisonin prisonmilitary prisonopen prisonpassport prisonpost prisonprison barsprison baseprison bitchprison breakprison breaker

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.