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Synonyms

jailhouse

American  
[jeyl-hous] / ˈdʒeɪlˌhaʊs /

noun

plural

jailhouses

  1. a jail or building used as a jail.

jailhouse British  
/ ˈdʒeɪlˌhaʊs /

noun

  1. a jail; prison

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of jailhouse

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15; jail + house

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.

Department of Justice announced just before Christmas Eve it would stop monitoring the Orange County district attorney’s use of jailhouse informants.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2026

Ryan won an award from the New York Press Club in 2018 for coverage of a jailhouse informant scandal in Detroit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

The use of jailhouse informants is not an uncommon, or illegal, tactic and tool used by law enforcement.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 29, 2025

We’d pass below it every time they transported me between the jailhouse and the courthouse.

From Slate • Oct. 6, 2025

Bunny’s jailhouse jokes had for some reason unsettled me, though I remembered him telling an awful lot of jokes like that, back in the fall.

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.