make bail

1. Put up security as an assurance that someone released from prison will appear for trial, as in He didn't think he could make bail for his brother. The use of bail for “security” was first recorded in 1495.

Example Sentences

The system allows wealthy defendants to purchase their freedom by making bail; poor defendants are stuck in jail even on lesser charges because they couldn’t make bail that judges may deliberately set beyond their means.

From Los Angeles Times

For more than two years they have been kept in a county jail, unable to make bail.

From BBC

“Another Wasted Life” is inspired by Kalief Browder, a New York City teenager who spent two years in solitary confinement at Rikers Island — three years in jail total — when he couldn’t make bail on a charge of stealing a backpack.

From Seattle Times

He will make bail, so he won’t be in jail.

From Seattle Times

Bogner couldn’t make bail—initially set at $150,000—so he was locked up in the Los Angeles County jail for 60 days.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• assure 
• ensure 
• insure 
• maintain 
• protect 
• prove 
• secure 
• support