jail
Americannoun
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jails
plural
verb (used with object)
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jails,
present (3rd person singular)
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jailed,
past participle, past
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jailing
present participle
noun
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a place for the confinement of persons convicted and sentenced to imprisonment or of persons awaiting trial to whom bail is not granted
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informal to get out of a difficult situation
verb
Usage
What is a basic definition of jail? A jail is a building that houses prisoners and people accused of crimes, especially minor crimes. Jail also means to imprison for committing a crime or to lawfully detain a person. A jail is a building where criminals or people accused of crimes are housed. Jails are usually small buildings that keep prisoners only until they go to trial or for criminals with short punishments. Typically, a prisoner only spends around 90 days in a jail. A person accused of a more serious crime may be kept in a jail until their trial or until they are transferred to a larger facility. The phrase “in jail” often means a person is spending time in a jail. A person who manages a jail or puts a person in a jail is called a jailer.
- Real-life examples: In the United States, jails are usually managed at the local level, such as by a town or county. A person who commits a minor offense such as being drunk in public or trespassing may be sentenced to spend time in a county jail.
- Used in a sentence: After a wild night, the partygoers woke up the next morning in the city jail.
- Real-life examples: If a person is arrested by police, they are usually jailed until they are taken to trial. Depending on the judge’s ruling, they may be jailed again as punishment for a crime.
- Used in a sentence: The police quickly jailed the men who were caught trying to steal a car.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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rejailverb (used with object)
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jail-likeadjective
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jailableadjective
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jaillessadjective
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jaillikeadjective
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nonjailableadjective
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unjailedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jailsimple
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jailssimple
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have jailedperfect
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has jailedperfect
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am jailingprogressive
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are jailingprogressive
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is jailingprogressive
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have been jailingperfect progressive
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has been jailingperfect progressive
Past
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jailedsimple
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had jailedperfect
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was jailingprogressive
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were jailingprogressive
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had been jailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jail
1225–75; Middle English gaiole, jaiole, jaile < Old North French gaiole, Old French jaiole cage < Vulgar Latin *gaviola, variant of *caveola, diminutive of Latin cavea cage; see -ole 1
Explanation
A jail is a place where people are confined while they're being punished for a crime. If you end up getting a mug shot and put behind bars, chances are you are In jail. To arrest someone and put them in a jail cell is to jail them. Jail prisoners are often simply waiting for their trials — they've been charged with a crime, but they haven't yet been found to be guilty (or innocent). Jail was originally spelled gayhol, and in Britain it's also spelled gaol. This can be traced back to the Medieval Latin gabiola, from Late Latin caveola and the Latin cavea, "cage or enclosure."
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:
In an interview, Denise and Jeffrey’s father, Halford Fairchild, acknowledged that Jeffrey led a troubled life, shuffling in and out of jail on a variety of charges and convictions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
His lyrics reference life in parts of the city, avoiding jail and being a product of your environment.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Both are slated for a trial in New York next June and are being held in a Brooklyn jail.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Maduro and Flores were captured in January during a US military raid, after which they were taken to New York, where they remain in jail.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
“I just don’t understand how all of this happened. This morning I woke up in jail, and now I’m about to fly to Scotland for spy training. It’s just so...overwhelming.”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
On Thursday hundreds of prisoners were released early, under new rules introduced to prevent jails reaching capacity, with around 4,500 due to be freed by next summer.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
As of last Friday, there were 87,499 people in 120 jails across England and Wales - with around 1,500 available beds.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
In 2015, the Sheriff’s Department entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to implement reforms on mental health and use-of-force in its jails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Often, Huntsman said, he found problems in the jails were the result of deficient training and management.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The only image I had for jails was from westerns at the movies, and this one was nothing like that.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
They have pleaded not guilty and remain jailed in lieu of $20 million.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
He was only 7 in 1977 when he, one of his brothers and his father were jailed for the crime of trying to escape communist Vietnam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Former environment minister Lefter Koka was jailed for receiving 3.7 million euros in kickbacks in the case.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Tom Hayes, a former trader at Swiss bank UBS, was the first banker jailed.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
I realize it’s just six words on a Post-it note, but for a moment at least, it jailed me with hope.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
The Metro leads on the jailing of James Gillingham, who was found guilty of running a £13m ponzi scheme.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The NCA said a "number of key suppliers" had also been targeted, including the jailing of Adem Savas who reportedly supplied equipment used in about half of all crossings in 2023.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, is on trial for incitement over social media posts following her father's jailing in July 2021 which sparked unrest that claimed more than 350 lives.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in 2024 that Canberra was "gravely concerned" about the jailing of Ng and other Hong Kong activists.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026
However, both saw promise in the dramatic arrest, jailing, and trial of a fifteen-year-old bus protester.
From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
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