Alcatraz

American

[al-kuh-traz] / ˈæl kəˌtræz /

noun

a small island in W California, in San Francisco Bay: site of a U.S. penitentiary 1933–63.

Alcatraz British

/ ˈælkəˌtræz /

noun

an island in W California, in San Francisco Bay: a federal prison until 1963

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Minutes later, she spotted the telltale puff of water ahead, not far from Alcatraz.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

Stunning biologists, a lone coyote swims to Alcatraz.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

In the previous year, his “Trace” exhibition at San Francisco’s Alcatraz featured portraits of people he considers activists, prisoners of conscience, or advocates of free speech, created with nearly a million toy bricks.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026

Alcatraz was originally a naval defence fort, before being converted first to a military prison and then to a federal prison in the 1930s after being taken over by the Department of Justice.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

On Alcatraz there’s nothing to do, no one to do it with and nothing to look forward to either.

From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023