imprison
Americanverb (used with object)
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imprisons,
present (3rd person singular)
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imprisoned,
past participle, past
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imprisoning
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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imprisonernoun
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imprisonmentnoun
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reimprisonmentnoun
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reimprisonverb (used with object)
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imprisonableadjective
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unimprisonableadjective
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unimprisonedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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imprisonsimple
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imprisonssimple
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have imprisonedperfect
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has imprisonedperfect
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am imprisoningprogressive
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are imprisoningprogressive
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is imprisoningprogressive
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have been imprisoningperfect progressive
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has been imprisoningperfect progressive
Past
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imprisonedsimple
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had imprisonedperfect
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was imprisoningprogressive
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were imprisoningprogressive
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had been imprisoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of imprison
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English enprisonen, from Old French enprisoner, equivalent to en- en- 1 + prison prison + -er infinitive suffix
Explanation
To imprison is to hold someone in a prison or jail. It can also mean to confine them elsewhere. You might imprison a classmate in a locker, for example. Cops imprison suspects who can't make bail, and someone could be imprisoned for a long time if convicted of a serious crime. Government agencies like the CIA and FBI also imprison people. However, you don't need a prison to imprison someone: a kidnapper holding people captive in the basement has imprisoned them.
Vocabulary lists containing imprison
Schooled
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"The New Colossus"
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Because the intelligence agency knows of Almásy’s affair with Katharine, they assume Geoffrey’s death is suspicious and imprison Almásy as he tries to get help.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Mitsotakis, who notes the fraud began before he came to power in 2019, has vowed to imprison the "thieves" responsible and to reclaim the funds.
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
In America, we don’t imprison people for violating rules that were never written.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
There must be no doubt that our federal government lacks the power to imprison someone for criticizing government officials.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2024
This was the practical thing to do, he hinted, to imprison the man rather than risk the anger of Haitians who were starting to lose confidence in Captain Carroll’s leadership.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
The camera is almost always static; the frame is frozen in a way that virtually imprisons the characters, suggesting that their blinkered belief systems similarly constrain their thoughts and direct their deeds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
How does this good woman merit a disease that imprisons you in your own body?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2025
Mommy Fortuna, a wizened witch voiced by the late Angela Lansbury, cages the creature in a sideshow attraction to make a buck and secure her legacy in the memory of the deathless creatures she imprisons.
From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2022
The cemetery is an oasis of peace amid the traffic that imprisons the Ostiense area.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
Banning not only confines one physically, it imprisons one’s spirit.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
In a statement, Lithuania's Ministry of Justice said: "There have been no discussions or consultations regarding the possibility of accepting the transfer of all Lithuanian citizens imprisoned in the United Kingdom".
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
They have been imprisoned at the Baker County Detention Center and denied bail ever since.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
To be eligible, a person has to have been imprisoned as a result of a conviction that was later vacated by a court.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
Family members say three of Lobga’s uncles perished during a defining Chinese crackdown on Tibet in 1959—when the young Dalai Lama fled to India—and other relatives were imprisoned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
When the book was published Calvin contacted the authorities in Vienna and had the heretic imprisoned.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Buddha steps in, imprisoning Monkey under a mountain and forcing him to study sutras for 500 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2025
Retired tech titans and social media luminaries can no more control the development of AI by banning it than the Catholic Church could undo the fact that Earth revolves around the sun by imprisoning Galileo.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025
"Excuse me, that's incorrect. Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people," Hassan said.
From Salon ● May 20, 2025
A member of the audience at the Fabian Society event urged Lord Timpson to consider community sentences as a “direct alternative” to imprisoning offenders.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2024
“When we lock things away,” he said with conviction, “we’re really imprisoning ourselves.”
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
