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

See Examples For:

behind bars

Though Brand will soon be behind bars, accusations against the actor remain in the spotlight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026

Under the new rules, they are leaving jail after serving no more than a third of their sentence behind bars, rather than a half.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026

Attalah is one of Egypt's most prominent journalists, 26 of whom are currently behind bars.

From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026

Wong is already behind bars serving a sentence of four years and eight months for a previous security law conviction, which was set to be completed in January.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

"No! She's not one bit bad. Some liar accused her of stealing a necklace, and they slammed her behind bars and didn't even try to prove she'd committed a crime."

From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman

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