penitentiary

American  

[pen-i-ten-shuh-ree] / ˌpɛn ɪˈtɛn ʃə ri /

noun

penitentiaries plural

1. 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.

2. Roman Catholic Church. a tribunal in the Curia Romana, presided over by a cardinal grand penitentiary, having jurisdiction over certain matters, as penance, confession, dispensation, absolution, and impediments, and dealing with questions of conscience reserved for the Holy See.

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adjective

1. (of an offense) punishable by imprisonment in a penitentiary.

2. of, relating to, or intended for imprisonment, reformatory discipline, or punishment.

3. penitential.

penitentiary British  

/ ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃərɪ /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: pen.  (in the US and Canada) a state or federal prison: in Canada, esp a federal prison for offenders convicted of serious crimes

2. RC Church

   1. a cleric appointed to supervise the administration of the sacrament of penance in a particular area

   2. a priest who has special faculties to absolve particularly grave sins

   3. a cardinal who presides over a tribunal that decides all matters affecting the sacrament of penance

   4. this tribunal itself

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adjective

1. another word for penitential

2. (of an offence) punishable by imprisonment in a penitentiary

Usage

What does penitentiary mean? A penitentiary is a prison, especially a state or federal prison in the United States or Canada. Penitentiaries typically house criminals who have committed major crimes. The word is often used in formal contexts. In less formal and slang usage, it is often shortened to pen or the pen, such as in the phrase state pen (a penitentiary run by a state government, as opposed to the federal government). It is sometimes used as an adjective describing related things. Less commonly, the word is used as the name of a special type of Roman Catholic tribunal. Example: If convicted, your client is facing a life sentence in a federal penitentiary.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• penitentiaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of penitentiary

1375–1425; late Middle English penitenciarie priest who administers penance, prison < Medieval Latin pēnitēntiārius of penance. See penitence, -ary

Explanation

A penitentiary is a prison for big-time criminals convicted of big-time crimes. Commit a serious crime like a murder and you won't just go to jail; you'll be sent to the penitentiary. Penitentiary comes from the Latin paenitentia, meaning "repentance." A penitentiary is a place you are sent to make repentance for a crime committed. Penitentiary can also be used as an adjective to describe something done to show penance, as in the penitentiary scarlet "A" on Hester Prynne's chest. In the Roman Catholic Church, a penitentiary is a priest who administers the sacrament of penance, or hears people's confessions.

Example Sentences

Alcatraz, which opened as a federal penitentiary in 1934, was once considered among the most secure prisons in the United States due to its isolated island location and the strong currents surrounding it.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Early last year, prison officials transferred Hernández out of the federal detention center in Brooklyn, which largely holds pretrial detainees, and sent him to the high-security Hazelton penitentiary in West Virginia.

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026

Alcatraz island - nicknamed "the Rock" because it was regarded as an impregnable fortress - is home to the shuttered federal penitentiary that housed some of the most dangerous criminals in the US.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026

In it, the special agent in charge recounts an interview done with one of Ray’s cellmates in the Missouri penitentiary who reported Ray having said to him:

From Slate • Dec. 1, 2025

Soon afterward, Prisoner 40087083 settled into the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he remains today.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

Related Words

• lockup
• prison