jailbird
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of jailbird
Explanation
A jailbird is someone who's been in prison or is still there. Your parents might refer to your disgraced car thief cousin a jailbird. Jailbird is a casual and derogatory term for a convicted criminal, especially one who's been in and out of jail several times. Following a prison escape, a local newspaper's headline might read "Jailbird on the Loose!" Jailbird, coined in the 17th century, equates the image of a bird in a cage with a prisoner in jail.
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.
If it weren’t for the long-ago gift of some 3,000 gorgeous sylvan acres from a cranky jailbird with a civic conscience and a large and very taxable real estate portfolio, we wouldn’t have Griffith Park.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was jailbird.
From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2023
Tony Sirico, a one-time jailbird who achieved fame as mobster Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri in “The Sopranos,” died Friday, his brother the Rev. Robert Sirico said on Facebook.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 9, 2022
One of the most significant parts of the film for her is the love story between Israel and her partner in crime, a ruined jailbird dandy called Jack Hock, played by Richard E Grant.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 14, 2019
“How about a kiss for your jailbird brother?” he said.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
