calaboose

[ kal-uh-boos, kal-uh-boos ]

See synonyms for calaboose on Thesaurus.com

nounSlang.

jail; prison; lockup.

Origin of calaboose

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95; from Louisiana French calabouse, from Spanish calabozo “dungeon,” of obscure origin

Words Nearby calaboose

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use calaboose in a sentence

But mind, the three waifs were never in the town; only on the beach and in the calaboose.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25) | Robert Louis Stevenson
Of course, and if we leave him in that weak old calaboose, they'll get more help and take him out to-night.
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine | John Fox, Jr.
An army might lose enthusiasm and prestige if it spent a night or two in the calaboose.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete | Albert Bigelow Paine
They conducted us to what they had termed "the calaboose," a big, ramshackle, one-roomed barn-like structure.
Tramping on Life | Harry Kemp
We want a locomotive and a calaboose to take us to Boynton, and we are quite willing to pay anything reasonable.
The Cattle-Baron's Daughter | Harold Bindloss

British Dictionary definitions for calaboose

calaboose

/ (ˈkæləˌbuːs) /

noun

US informal a prison; jail

Origin of calaboose

C18: from Creole French, from Spanish calabozo dungeon, of unknown origin

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

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