inmate
Americannoun
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inmates
plural
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a person who is confined in a prison, hospital, etc.
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Archaic. a person who dwells with others in the same house.
noun
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a person who is confined to an institution such as a prison or hospital See also resident
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obsolete a person who lives with others in a house
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of inmate
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How does inmate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An inmate is a person who lives in a specific place, especially someone who's confined there, like a prisoner. You can call yourself an Inmate if you get sent to your room, but usually inmates are behind bars in "the big house." You can talk about a hospital inmate or the inmates at a local boarding school, but it's most common to use inmate and prisoner interchangeably. Originally, in the 16th century, an inmate was "one allowed to live in a house rented by another" — a roommate who's not on the lease, in other words. This meaning comes from in and mate, "friend or companion." By the 1830s, inmate had come to mean "one confined to an institution."
Vocabulary lists containing inmate
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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:
A 10th inmate died on Sept. 20 from a cause that has yet to be determined pending an autopsy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
The Tennessee death-row inmate woke up in the hospital “angry and confused about everything,” her attorney said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
The female inmate who survived a failed execution in a US prison last week is now conscious and speaking, but her prognosis remains unclear, her lawyers said Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
The death row inmate has been caught in a hellish middle ground.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2026
The essential relationship inside a prison is the one between a guard and an inmate.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
But Denise said that he didn’t deserve to die the way that he did, and that she hopes their lawsuit will “force some accountability” for law enforcement officers who harm inmates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Politicians and public opinion rallied to the cause in the 2010s partly due to fierce campaigning by families and former inmates.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
To pay for the labor, inmates allege that individuals outside of the prison are depositing thousands of dollars into the commissary accounts of those waiting on the “Satisfy You” singer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
In Saudi prisons, inmates on death row typically lose access to personal mobile devices, with formal calls strictly facilitated through prison authorities.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
If all the inmates in these institutions were let free, they could populate a small city.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
