inmate
Americannoun
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inmates
plural
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a person who is confined in a prison, hospital, etc.
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Archaic. a person who dwells with others in the same house.
noun
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a person who is confined to an institution such as a prison or hospital See also resident
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obsolete a person who lives with others in a house
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of inmate
Compare meaning
How does inmate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An inmate is a person who lives in a specific place, especially someone who's confined there, like a prisoner. You can call yourself an Inmate if you get sent to your room, but usually inmates are behind bars in "the big house." You can talk about a hospital inmate or the inmates at a local boarding school, but it's most common to use inmate and prisoner interchangeably. Originally, in the 16th century, an inmate was "one allowed to live in a house rented by another" — a roommate who's not on the lease, in other words. This meaning comes from in and mate, "friend or companion." By the 1830s, inmate had come to mean "one confined to an institution."
Vocabulary lists containing inmate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He was an inmate himself, locked up two hours away at Washington State Prison in Davisboro, Ga.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Justice Department has launched an investigation into conditions at Los Angeles County’s Men’s Central Jail, following years of concerns about poor conditions and inmate deaths.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
“The case hinged on the testimony of inmate witnesses who testified in shackles and orange jumpsuits.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
His guilt and the evidence on which he was convicted have been questioned over the years - namely after witnesses recanted their statements and another inmate later confessed to the murder.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
I felt sorry for him and angry at the inmate and told the inmate to sit down.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
“The whole idea of Spyland was that people were sent here to be forgotten, to be expunged from record,” one of the newer inmates observes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
His words about what inmates “earnestly believe,” psychologically, tell us more about the language insiders use to confirm their insider status.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Among the recommendations made in the report was putting an end to the use of the small metal enclosures, greater access to showers for inmates and more recreation time.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
And a dwindling number of attorneys who specialize in death penalty cases meant 70% of condemned inmates did not have a lawyer at the end of last year, according to a state report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
One opened a door to a cell reserved for inmates with AIDS.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
