prison

American  

[priz-uhn] / ˈprɪz ən /

noun

1. a building for the confinement of persons held while awaiting trial, persons sentenced after conviction, etc.

2. state prison.

3. any place of confinement or involuntary restraint.

4. imprisonment.

---

prison British  

/ ˈprɪzən /

noun

1. a public building used to house convicted criminals and accused persons remanded in custody and awaiting trial See also jail penitentiary reformatory

2. any place of confinement or seeming confinement

---

Other Word Forms

• postprison adjective
• prisonlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of prison

before 1150; Middle English prison, earlier prisun < Old French, variant of preson imprisonment, a prison < Latin pre ( hē ) nsiōn- (stem of prehēnsiō ) a seizure, arrest, equivalent to prehēns ( us ) (past participle of prehendere to seize) + -iōn- -ion; doublet of prehension

Example Sentences

"We must build many, many prisons," said the 44-year-old senator, estimating that the country faces a deficit of 500,000 prison beds.

From Barron's

Iran's judiciary denied he had been sentenced to death, saying he faced security-related charges carrying prison terms only.

From BBC

We meet him following a prologue set in a prison, where an old man is given the task of burning a batch of papers.

From The Wall Street Journal

"He was thrown away like a piece of garbage into a prison in Pennsylvania," she told reporters.

From Barron's

Q: How do you think she's coping with prison?

From Barron's

Related Words

• confinement
• jail
• lockup
• penitentiary