incarcerate
Americanverb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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incarceratesimple
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incarceratessimple
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have incarceratedperfect
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has incarceratedperfect
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am incarceratingprogressive
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are incarceratingprogressive
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is incarceratingprogressive
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have been incarceratingperfect progressive
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has been incarceratingperfect progressive
Past
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incarceratedsimple
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had incarceratedperfect
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was incarceratingprogressive
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were incarceratingprogressive
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had been incarceratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of incarcerate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Medieval Latin incarcerātus, past participle of incarcerāre “to imprison,” equivalent to in- “in” + carcer “prison” + -ātus past participle suffix; see in- 2, -ate 1
Explanation
Use the verb incarcerate when you need to put someone behind bars in a big way, meaning, send them to prison, like those who, after being found guilty of a crime and sentenced, become incarcerated. The word incarcerate entered the English language in the sixteenth century, tracing back to the Latin word meaning “imprisoned.” If you incarcerate people, that means you imprison them for a predetermined amount of time in a jail, prison, or a detention center. It’s good to know the meaning of incarcerate, but make sure you never get so close to it that you have firsthand knowledge of the word.
Vocabulary lists containing incarcerate
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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:
Arleo, the federal judge in Newark, N.J., said she had no power to review or oversee the bankruptcy process or incarcerate individuals unless they are charged.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
President Bukele made the offer to incarcerate deportees and prisoners from the US at the Cecot during a recent visit to the Central American nation by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2025
Today, it costs $133,000 a year to incarcerate a person in California, a figure that has gone up dramatically in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2025
States that build more prisons incarcerate more people.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2024
“I see they spared no expense to incarcerate us,” I say.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
The West Virginia corrections department incarcerates about 10,000 people on a typical day, while the federal system houses more than 150,000.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2025
Those numbers, however, don't amount to much in the grand scheme, given the rate at which Louisiana "incarcerates and prosecutes and entangles people in the criminal legal system left and right every day," Romero said.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2024
The U.S. incarcerates so many in its 1,700 prisons that it held the dubious distinction of being the world leader in incarceration for 30 years.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2024
It isn’t clear why she was serving her sentence at Hiland, which typically incarcerates state prisoners.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2023
The frost that imprisons the alligator in the Mississippi as effectually cuts it off from food and action as the drought which incarcerates the crocodile in the sun-burnt clay of a Ceylon tank.
From Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon by Sir James Emerson Tennent
Smith was one of the first to be cared for under the MissionCare Health scheme, which focuses specifically on providing care to incarcerated individuals.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Louisiana established its fund in 2005 and today is one of 39 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, that compensate the wrongfully incarcerated.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
The 24-foot trailer was packed and ready: sleeping bags, towels, backpacks and other items needed for a free four-day summer camping trip for children of incarcerated parents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Rivera was just one of a number of former inmates I spoke with whose stories illuminated just how impactful a digital footprint is for the formerly incarcerated.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
An infuriated and confused Mr. Levy would return, this time determined to have him incarcerated at once.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
"If you're going to ban smacking effectively, are we going to band grounding children because you're taking away the freedom? You're incarcerating children."
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
It has fewer prisons thanks to a dramatic decline in the number of people the state is incarcerating.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2026
All litigation is frozen, including cases where the DOJ was investigating and litigating jurisdictions for incarcerating people in inhumane conditions, and the department is throwing out some preexisting consent decrees.
From Slate ● Jul. 5, 2025
Soon after, the state ended its practice of incarcerating juveniles for truancy and other noncriminal offenses.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 16, 2024
The collateral consequences of incarcerating women are significant.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
