prison
Americannoun
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a building for the confinement of persons held while awaiting trial, persons sentenced after conviction, etc.
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any place of confinement or involuntary restraint.
noun
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a public building used to house convicted criminals and accused persons remanded in custody and awaiting trial See also jail penitentiary reformatory
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any place of confinement or seeming confinement
Other Word Forms
- postprison adjective
- prisonlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of prison
before 1150; Middle English prison, earlier prisun < Old French, variant of preson imprisonment, a prison < Latin pre ( hē ) nsiōn- (stem of prehēnsiō ) a seizure, arrest, equivalent to prehēns ( us ) (past participle of prehendere to seize) + -iōn- -ion; doublet of prehension
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.
The bonus scene takes place sometime after the movie’s main story ends at the prison where Bowser and Bowser Jr. have been locked up.
From Los Angeles Times
Iranians can be sent to prison for speaking to certain international media.
From BBC
District Judge Diane Gujarati in Brooklyn said that a lengthy prison term was necessary to prevent Daedone from committing further crimes.
The court heard the boy had been "shocked" after his grandfather warned him he could end up in prison if he did not change his behaviour.
From BBC
He also tracked down Ashaal’s SUV to a neighborhood that includes a prison for the security services.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
