jailer

or jail·or

[ jey-ler ]

noun

1. a person who is in charge of a jail or section of a jail.
2. a person who forcibly confines another.

jailer

/ ˈdʒeɪlə /

noun

1. a person in charge of prisoners in a jail

Other Words From

• under·jailer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of jailer¹

1250–1300; Middle English gaioler, jaioler, jailer < Old French jaiolier. See jail, -er ²

Example Sentences

The nation is the world’s leading jailer, with people of color disproportionately represented.

From Washington Post

Yesypenko was given a written text to read aloud and forced to answer questions in the way his jailers demanded.

From The Daily Beast

After the demonstration, a county sheriff in Kentucky posted a video in which he and a jailer burned Wildcats merchandise, and officials in another county proposed the state reallocate funds to the university.

From Washington Post

Jamie Mosley, a county jailer, joined him and threw a shirt on the fire.

From Washington Post

The Anchorage Police Department and jailers had another chance to obtain Mosley’s DNA and add it to the database in 2015, when he was arrested for punching his girlfriend in the face and pleaded guilty to domestic violence assault.

From ProPublica

“The jailer had a high-school-age daughter and was uncertain how to help her get in college,” writes Ferris.

From The Daily Beast

It was akin to a jailer wielding a set of keys before locking you in your cell.

From The Daily Beast

Does the low profile assumed by the former head of Yukos mean that he entered into a secret agreement with his jailer?

From The Daily Beast

He declined to give his name and insisted his jailer was treating him like his mother would.

From The Daily Beast

My jailer said I had to convert to Islam if I hoped to survive.

From The Daily Beast

The jailer's wife was a kind woman, and immediately felt the power of the attractions of her fascinating prisoner.

From Project Gutenberg

The jailer and his wife were both charmed with their prisoner, and invited her to dine with them that day.

From Project Gutenberg

Ten pence was to be paid to the jailer for the furniture he put into the cell; ten pence only remained for food.

From Project Gutenberg

But the longest red-letter day has its ending, and time and tide beckon one with the brutality of an impatient jailer.

From Project Gutenberg

It seems that the jailer's kid, a boy about sixteen years old, had been in the habit of bringing Jim's meals.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• prison guard