jailbird
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of jailbird
Explanation
A jailbird is someone who's been in prison or is still there. Your parents might refer to your disgraced car thief cousin a jailbird. Jailbird is a casual and derogatory term for a convicted criminal, especially one who's been in and out of jail several times. Following a prison escape, a local newspaper's headline might read "Jailbird on the Loose!" Jailbird, coined in the 17th century, equates the image of a bird in a cage with a prisoner in jail.
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.
People posted side-by-sides of this outfit next to Nicolas Cage dressed the same in “Con Air,” an action-farce set aboard a prison transport plane called the Jailbird.
From New York Times • Jul. 24, 2023
In case you’ve been counting, Krusty, Jailbird, and Mr. Burns have nearly two-thirds of the vote between them.
From Slate • Mar. 5, 2018
The Odyssey line still makes room for traditional mallets, including several new face-balanced models like the Marxman and the Jailbird Mini, which Branden Grace used when he shot 62 at last year’s British Open.
From Golf Digest • Jan. 19, 2018
In that company, Jailbird Jean Genet is a rarity; he has no complaint against society at large, nor does he whine that he took a bum rap.
From Time Magazine Archive
“Yes, when you come to think of it, a fellow would get a bit shy when he read the address, ‘care of Tom Jailbird, Esquire, Up a Slum, Drury Lane.’”
From My Friend Smith A Story of School and City Life by Reed, Talbot Baines
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.
