correctional officer

American  

Or correction officer,

noun

1. an officer of a jail or prison, especially a guard.

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Etymology

Origin of correctional officer

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

During testimony last week, Tomas Rivers, a correctional officer from State Correctional Institution Huntingdon, where Mangione was first held, described conversations he had with the accused, according to Rolling Stone:

From Salon • Dec. 11, 2025

Is correctional officer the job someone applies for when they have made all the right life choices?

From Slate • Oct. 8, 2025

It was after the daily 9 p.m. head count at the California Institution for Women in Chino when she was taken out of her cell by a correctional officer she thought was her friend.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 18, 2024

Barry County Sheriff Danny Boyd said at the time that one of the inmates told a correctional officer that he needed his blood pressure checked.

From Washington Times • Sep. 24, 2023

The guard appealed, and the Court reversed the verdict because the correctional officer had not been permitted to tell the jury that Trina was in prison for murder.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• prison guard