incarcerate
Americanverb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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incarceratesimple
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incarceratessimple
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have incarceratedperfect
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has incarceratedperfect
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am incarceratingprogressive
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are incarceratingprogressive
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is incarceratingprogressive
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have been incarceratingperfect progressive
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has been incarceratingperfect progressive
Past
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incarceratedsimple
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had incarceratedperfect
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was incarceratingprogressive
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were incarceratingprogressive
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had been incarceratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of incarcerate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Medieval Latin incarcerātus, past participle of incarcerāre “to imprison,” equivalent to in- “in” + carcer “prison” + -ātus past participle suffix; see in- 2, -ate 1
Explanation
Use the verb incarcerate when you need to put someone behind bars in a big way, meaning, send them to prison, like those who, after being found guilty of a crime and sentenced, become incarcerated. The word incarcerate entered the English language in the sixteenth century, tracing back to the Latin word meaning “imprisoned.” If you incarcerate people, that means you imprison them for a predetermined amount of time in a jail, prison, or a detention center. It’s good to know the meaning of incarcerate, but make sure you never get so close to it that you have firsthand knowledge of the word.
Vocabulary lists containing incarcerate
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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:
Arleo, the federal judge in Newark, N.J., said she had no power to review or oversee the bankruptcy process or incarcerate individuals unless they are charged.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
“We’re already spending tens of thousands of dollars to incarcerate somebody, I mean it’s astronomical,” Schulter said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2024
States that build more prisons incarcerate more people.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2024
We can’t arrest, incarcerate and punish our way out of this complex problem.
From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2024
“I see they spared no expense to incarcerate us,” I say.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
The West Virginia corrections department incarcerates about 10,000 people on a typical day, while the federal system houses more than 150,000.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2025
It isn’t clear why she was serving her sentence at Hiland, which typically incarcerates state prisoners.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2023
Our prison system incarcerates two million people more than any other country on earth.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2022
The episode illustrates how a system of preferences geared to stop the virus where it is most destructive may clash with other values in a nation that incarcerates more people than does any other.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 2, 2021
He has a number of Indian policemen to assist him in preserving order, and a gaol in Metlakahtla, in which he incarcerates malefactors.
From Metlakahtla and the North Pacific Mission by Eugene Stock
Smith was one of the first to be cared for under the MissionCare Health scheme, which focuses specifically on providing care to incarcerated individuals.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
You have to realize: Being arrested isn’t just about the inconvenience of being incarcerated — it’s that now you’re in the system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Louisiana established its fund in 2005 and today is one of 39 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, that compensate the wrongfully incarcerated.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
Rivera was just one of a number of former inmates I spoke with whose stories illuminated just how impactful a digital footprint is for the formerly incarcerated.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Lastly, prison is hardly a cheap solution: it costs about $25,000 a year to keep someone incarcerated.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
All litigation is frozen, including cases where the DOJ was investigating and litigating jurisdictions for incarcerating people in inhumane conditions, and the department is throwing out some preexisting consent decrees.
From Slate ● Jul. 5, 2025
However, research both globally and in Australia has shown that incarcerating children makes them more likely to reoffend and often has dire impacts on their health, education, and employment.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2024
“Is there a willingness to concede that incarcerating someone with dementia,” she asks, “is, maybe, questionable?”
From Scientific American ● Aug. 17, 2023
“This is not coercing people, this is not ticketing or incarcerating people,” Bass said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2022
Cost of incarcerating one juvenile for life: $2.5 million.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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.
