behind bars

Idioms  

1. In prison, as in All murderers should be put behind bars for life. The bars here refer to the iron rods used to confine prisoners. [c. 1900]

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Example Sentences

Under that plea deal, Gutierrez was poised to avoid spending time behind bars.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

In an interview with CBS last year, Curran said he told Trump he was prepared to go behind bars with him.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026

And yet is it in the interest of justice to hold behind bars a person who’s not the same one who was sentenced?

From Slate • May 2, 2026

"I felt that today we started to get justice. It tells everyone that no-one is exempt from justice. It was a dream to see a regime member behind bars," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

One in 9 black men between the ages of twenty and thirty-five was behind bars in 2006, and far more were under some form of penal control—such as probation or parole.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander