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:
Three of the jail guards sustained minor injuries and scratches, Bland said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Wearing tan jail uniforms, the brothers maintained they did not commit the alleged crimes as they slammed conditions in US custody.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
On Thursday, that officer was released from jail, and it’s likely he may never have to answer for his charges in court.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
However, he was released from jail the next day because the District Attorney’s office said it found insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
“Has she been in jail before? Because they can tell who you are by your fingerprints.”
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
The two bills would bar lawyers from prioritizing the desires of private investors who fund lawsuits, and ramp up penalties for lawyers who scout for clients at hospitals, jails and accident sites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Ministers argue urgent action is required to address record levels of overcrowding in Scotland's jails, but organisations representing victims of crime say exemptions for sex offenders and people convicted of domestic abuse should be considered.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The move comes after days of pressure to exclude Harper's killers from the scheme, which is aiming to free about 5,000 offenders in England and Wales to make space in overcrowded jails.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The prison housed 4,100 inmates, about four times its capacity, an issue common across the country's jails.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 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
A retired Tennessee law enforcement officer who was jailed for 37 days over a Kirk meme walked away with a $835,000 settlement once the charge collapsed.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
A New Zealand court has jailed a religious sect leader over the death of an elderly follower who had travelled from China to live with his family.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Still jailed in France after being captured in 1994, Ramírez has faded from collective memory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
A group of 21 former international cricket captains, including India's Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, signed a letter to Pakistan's government Sunday regarding the health care of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
If Booth was captured, the army would have to protect him from Lincoln’s avengers—rampaging mobs of vigilantes who might storm the Old Capitol Prison—if they discovered Booth was jailed there.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
While the criminal justice system has made significant progress in recent years in prosecuting and jailing criminal groomers, she believes convictions alone cannot answer the deeper questions now facing the inquiry.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 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
They point to human rights abuses, such as the plight of the Uyghurs and also to the jailing in Hong Kong of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy media tycoon.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
Aside from jailing the coxswains, Hong Kong courts previously handed prison sentences to two government ship inspectors who failed to ensure lifejacket compliance.
From Barron's ● Jan. 21, 2026
But I wanted to like it, because gallery work was the essential job of jailing.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
