penitentiary

American  

[pen-i-ten-shuh-ree] / ˌpɛn ɪˈtɛn ʃə ri /

noun

penitentiaries plural

1. a place for imprisonment, reformatory discipline, or punishment, especially a prison maintained in the U.S. by a state or the federal government for serious offenders.

2. Roman Catholic Church. a tribunal in the Curia Romana, presided over by a cardinal grand penitentiary, having jurisdiction over certain matters, as penance, confession, dispensation, absolution, and impediments, and dealing with questions of conscience reserved for the Holy See.

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adjective

1. (of an offense) punishable by imprisonment in a penitentiary.

2. of, relating to, or intended for imprisonment, reformatory discipline, or punishment.

3. penitential.

penitentiary British  

/ ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃərɪ /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: pen.  (in the US and Canada) a state or federal prison: in Canada, esp a federal prison for offenders convicted of serious crimes

2. RC Church

   1. a cleric appointed to supervise the administration of the sacrament of penance in a particular area

   2. a priest who has special faculties to absolve particularly grave sins

   3. a cardinal who presides over a tribunal that decides all matters affecting the sacrament of penance

   4. this tribunal itself

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adjective

1. another word for penitential

2. (of an offence) punishable by imprisonment in a penitentiary

Usage

What does penitentiary mean? A penitentiary is a prison, especially a state or federal prison in the United States or Canada. Penitentiaries typically house criminals who have committed major crimes. The word is often used in formal contexts. In less formal and slang usage, it is often shortened to pen or the pen, such as in the phrase state pen (a penitentiary run by a state government, as opposed to the federal government). It is sometimes used as an adjective describing related things. Less commonly, the word is used as the name of a special type of Roman Catholic tribunal. Example: If convicted, your client is facing a life sentence in a federal penitentiary.

Etymology

Origin of penitentiary

1375–1425; late Middle English penitenciarie priest who administers penance, prison < Medieval Latin pēnitēntiārius of penance. See penitence, -ary

Explanation

A penitentiary is a prison for big-time criminals convicted of big-time crimes. Commit a serious crime like a murder and you won't just go to jail; you'll be sent to the penitentiary. Penitentiary comes from the Latin paenitentia, meaning "repentance." A penitentiary is a place you are sent to make repentance for a crime committed. Penitentiary can also be used as an adjective to describe something done to show penance, as in the penitentiary scarlet "A" on Hester Prynne's chest. In the Roman Catholic Church, a penitentiary is a priest who administers the sacrament of penance, or hears people's confessions.

Example Sentences

Upon his release from Ohio State Penitentiary in 1967, Coe headed to Nashville and attempted to break into the country music scene.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

Javier Llaque, former head of the National Penitentiary Institute, said Peru already has some of Latin America's harshest sentences.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Penitentiary at Florence, Colo., the harshest institution in the federal system.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 11, 2025

Despite numerous attempts to have his sentence overturned, Tyler spent more than four decades in Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana before being released in 2016.

From Slate • Oct. 6, 2025

The dactyl had taken her directly over the Penitentiary.

From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older

Related Words

• lockup
• prison