open prison

British

noun

a penal establishment in which the prisoners are trusted to serve their sentences and so do not need to be locked up, thus extending the range of work and occupation they can safely undertake

"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

Example Sentences

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open prison

Two years on, the Parole Board has said he should now be moved to an open prison - but a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said Lammy's intervention was for "public protection".

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026

An open prison from which three prisoners absconded on New Years' Day will be subject to a review, a government minister has confirmed.

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026

"Given this record, why did the MoJ feel able to approve his transfer to an open prison?"

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026

Pitchfork was also refused a transfer to an open prison, with the Parole Board deciding he had not made "sufficient progress in addressing and reducing risk".

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025

Would not a lie be holy if it should open prison doors and allow a guiltless man to go forth and battle with the guilty?

From When Egypt Went Broke by Holman Day

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023