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

During the session, she faced a number of questions about why the three men had been considered eligible for release, and whether the crisis surrounding prison capacity had motivated their move to open prison.

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026

Big Brother Watch's Silkie Carlo said she feared the country would be "turned into an open prison".

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025

Panel members for Connelly's review will assess her risk in whether to release her from prison or recommend she is transferred to open prison conditions.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 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 Day, Holman

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