parole

¹ American  

[puh-rohl] / pəˈroʊl /

noun

1. Penology.

   1. the conditional release of a person from prison prior to the end of the maximum sentence imposed.

   2. such release or its duration.

   3. an official document authorizing such a release.

2. Military.

   1. the promise, usually written, of a prisoner of war, that if released they either will return to custody at a specified time or will not again take up arms against their captors.

   2. (formerly) any password given by authorized personnel in passing by a guard.

3. word of honor given or pledged.

4. (in U.S. immigration laws) the temporary admission of non-U.S. citizens into the United States for emergency reasons or on grounds considered in the public interest, as authorized by and at the discretion of the attorney general.

---

verb (used with object)

paroles, present (3rd person singular) paroled, past participle, past paroling present participle

1. to place or release on parole.

2. to admit (a non-U.S. citizen) into the United States for emergency reasons or on grounds considered in the public interest.

   An increased number of Hungarian refugees were paroled into the United States.

adjective

1. of or relating to parole or parolees.

   a parole record.

parole ² American  

[pa-rawl] / paˈrɔl /

noun

French.

1. language as manifested in the actual utterances produced by speakers of a language (contrasted with langue).

---

parole British  

/ pəˈrəʊl, pəˌrəʊˈliː /

noun

1. 1. the freeing of a prisoner before his sentence has expired, on the condition that he is of good behaviour

   2. the duration of such conditional release

2. a promise given by a prisoner, as to be of good behaviour if granted liberty or partial liberty

3. a variant spelling of parol

4. military a password

5. linguistics language as manifested in the individual speech acts of particular speakers Compare langue performance competence

6. 1. conditionally released from detention

   2. informal (of a person) under scrutiny, esp for a recurrence of an earlier shortcoming

---

verb

1. to place (a person) on parole

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• parolee
  noun
• parolable
  adjective
• unparolable
  adjective
• unparoled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• paroling
  present
• paroled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• parole
  simple
• paroles
  simple
• have paroled
  perfect
• has paroled
  perfect
• am paroling
  progressive
• are paroling
  progressive
• is paroling
  progressive
• have been paroling
  perfect progressive
• has been paroling
  perfect progressive

Past

• paroled
  simple
• had paroled
  perfect
• was paroling
  progressive
• were paroling
  progressive
• had been paroling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will parole
  simple
• will have paroled
  perfect
• will be paroling
  progressive
• will have been paroling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of parole

First recorded in 1610–20; from Middle French, short for parole d'honneur “word of honor”. See parol

Explanation

If you're in prison, after serving a few years you might be let out on parole, a promise to be good and check in regularly. Parole comes from the French for "word," and means "word of honor." You'll most frequently hear it in relation to prisoners, who promise to fulfill certain conditions in return for an early release from jail. When the officials are trying to decide whether a prisoner is ready for parole, they have a parole hearing. Parole can also mean "password." If you're part of an underground revolutionary group, you'll need a parole to help keep your meetings secret. Just say the word at the door, and they'll let you in.

Example Sentences

In the Parole Board decision summary, officials said Pearson was in a bigamous relationship with her second husband at the time of the murder, remaining married to her first.

From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026

The Parole Board heard another appeal from Razzell in January 2026, and the BBC has exclusively obtained a summary of the its decision.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

After Wood and his attorneys presented their case for sparing Wood’s life, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended clemency in a 3–2 vote.

From Slate • Mar. 6, 2026

On Monday, Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper held a news conference decrying the Board of Parole Hearings’ decision as “dead wrong.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

During the spring of nineteen fifty-two I joyously wrote Elijah Muhammad and my family that the Massachusetts State Parole Board had voted that I should be released.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Related Words

• let out
• liberate
• pardon