noun
Other Word Forms
- underjailer noun
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
Kidnapped by bumbling conspiracy theorists Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis, Michelle stares at her jailer calmly as she pitches them on letting her go.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026
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
“Stories are light,” Gregory the jailer told Despereaux.
From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
