penitentiary
noun
a place for imprisonment, reformatory discipline, or punishment, especially a prison maintained in the U.S. by a state or the federal government for serious offenders.
penitentiaries
-
pluralof penitentiary.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
Time served for the state convictions will run at the same time as the federal sentences, and the men will serve their time in federal penitentiaries.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 9, 2024
But now, he is resisting calls from criminal justice advocates and liberal state lawmakers to shutter five more penitentiaries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
Right now, there are approximately 2,400 prisoners in US penitentiaries on death row.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2023
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, more than 1 million people are held in state penitentiaries, of which 71% will be re-arrested within three to five years after committing additional offenses.
From Reuters ● Aug. 2, 2023
That has been true since penitentiaries first opened in America.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
