parole
1 Americannoun
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Penology.
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the conditional release of a person from prison prior to the end of the maximum sentence imposed.
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such release or its duration.
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an official document authorizing such a release.
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Military.
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the promise, usually written, of a prisoner of war, that if released they either will return to custody at a specified time or will not again take up arms against their captors.
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(formerly) any password given by authorized personnel in passing by a guard.
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word of honor given or pledged.
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(in U.S. immigration laws) the temporary admission of non-U.S. citizens into the United States for emergency reasons or on grounds considered in the public interest, as authorized by and at the discretion of the attorney general.
verb (used with object)
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paroles,
present (3rd person singular)
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paroled,
past participle, past
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paroling
present participle
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to place or release on parole.
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to admit (a non-U.S. citizen) into the United States for emergency reasons or on grounds considered in the public interest.
An increased number of Hungarian refugees were paroled into the United States.
adjective
noun
noun
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the freeing of a prisoner before his sentence has expired, on the condition that he is of good behaviour
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the duration of such conditional release
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a promise given by a prisoner, as to be of good behaviour if granted liberty or partial liberty
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a variant spelling of parol
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military a password
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linguistics language as manifested in the individual speech acts of particular speakers Compare langue performance competence
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conditionally released from detention
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informal (of a person) under scrutiny, esp for a recurrence of an earlier shortcoming
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verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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parolesimple
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parolessimple
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have paroledperfect
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has paroledperfect
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am parolingprogressive
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are parolingprogressive
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is parolingprogressive
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have been parolingperfect progressive
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has been parolingperfect progressive
Past
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paroledsimple
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had paroledperfect
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was parolingprogressive
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were parolingprogressive
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had been parolingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of parole
First recorded in 1610–20; from Middle French, short for parole d'honneur “word of honor”. See parol
Explanation
If you're in prison, after serving a few years you might be let out on parole, a promise to be good and check in regularly. Parole comes from the French for "word," and means "word of honor." You'll most frequently hear it in relation to prisoners, who promise to fulfill certain conditions in return for an early release from jail. When the officials are trying to decide whether a prisoner is ready for parole, they have a parole hearing. Parole can also mean "password." If you're part of an underground revolutionary group, you'll need a parole to help keep your meetings secret. Just say the word at the door, and they'll let you in.
Vocabulary lists containing parole
Freak the Mighty
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Touching Spirit Bear
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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:
He will be eligible for parole if he can reach the age of 99.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The maximum sentence Nick Reiner will face is life in prison without possibility of parole.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Newsom and other governors have repeatedly denied parole to his closest acolytes, though an appeals court overturned Newsom’s veto of the release of Leslie Van Houten in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Leroy applied for parole five times while in prison, but was rejected each time due to what his family said was incomplete courses.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
The increase in prison admissions due to parole and probation violations is astounding.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Initially, both sides assumed that the familiar practice of cartels and paroles would be maintained.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
The revocation, she ruled, would have to be on a case-by-case basis, just as their paroles had been granted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
Like the board of pardons and paroles, Abbott was unmoved.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2024
District Judge T. Kent Wetherell issued a “show cause order” giving the administration until the afternoon to explain what happened and, if true, to argue how the paroles didn’t violate his restraining order.
From Washington Times ● May 15, 2023
It was Billy Speaker himself who had suggested the idea of the paroles, and as Jimmie Welsh knew the 219 word of a Westerner was as good as his bond, the pact was soon consummated.
From The Free Range by Douglas Duer
One of them was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, and the other was paroled after cooperating with investigators.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the U.S. government was bound by a Biden-era court settlement to expedite asylum claims of Afghans paroled into the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
"This is an ongoing sentence from which I can never be paroled."
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
Fromme was paroled in 2009 and moved to upstate New York, largely disappearing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025
In the Milan, Michigan, federal prison, Mr. Muhammad served three and a half years, then he was paroled.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
South Koreans have been divided over whether Mr. Lee was worth paroling.
From New York Times ● Aug. 9, 2021
Advocates and community members have long agreed that D.C. needs a new paroling authority.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 19, 2021
The HSI agent also wrote out a formal order paroling one of Mr. Sargsyan’s Armenian relatives into the U.S., and got his supervisor to sign off, Mr. Sargsyan says.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 29, 2020
“State paroling systems vary so much that it is almost impossible to compare them,” Jorge Renaud, an analyst at the Prison Policy Initiative, a think tank, wrote in a report earlier this year.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 25, 2019
No use paroling 'em, as they consider us guerillas.
From My Lady of Doubt by Alonzo Kimball
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.
