noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jailer
1250–1300; Middle English gaioler, jaioler, jailer < Old French jaiolier. See jail, -er 2
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.
There are more than 120 journalists detained in China, according to RSF, which calls the country "the world's biggest jailer of journalists".
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
At trial, Sexton’s attorney portrayed him as an “overeager kid” trying to help the FBI, a low-ranking jailer who exaggerated his importance in the scheme.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2025
That alone should mean that shipping people there runs afoul of domestic laws and potentially the Eighth Amendment, if indeed the U.S. can be legally considered the jailer.
From Slate ● Apr. 8, 2025
One is that most sheriffs worked in their office before the became sheriffs, as a deputy or a jailer or a staff member.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2024
To allow my activities to be circumscribed by my opponent was a form of defeat, and I resolved not to become my own jailer.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
