death row

American  

noun

• death rows
  plural

1. a row of prison cells for prisoners awaiting execution.

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death row British  

noun

1. the part of a prison where those sentenced to death are confined

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• death rows
  plural

Etymology

Origin of death row

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

death row

In return, he’d get comforts for his death row cell, including a television, as well as $33,000 to pay off a restitution order and purchase headstones for his parents’ graves, The Times reported.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Shermantine died on Sept. 17 at the California State Prison in Sacramento while on death row, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Friday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Take the case of Areli Escobar, who is on death row in Texas.

From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026

There was desperation in the voice of the young Ethiopian man when he managed to get through to the BBC from a phone in his prison cell on death row in Saudi Arabia.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

The Alabama Supreme Court had scheduled execution dates for several death row prisoners who had completed the appeals process.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson