prisoner
Americannoun
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prisoners
plural
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a person who is confined in prison or kept in custody, especially as the result of legal process.
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a person or thing that is deprived of liberty or kept in restraint.
noun
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a person deprived of liberty and kept in prison or some other form of custody as a punishment for a crime, while awaiting trial, or for some other reason
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a person confined by any of various restraints
we are all prisoners of time
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informal to be uncompromising and resolute in one's actions
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to capture and hold someone as a prisoner, esp as a prisoner of war
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of prisoner
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How does prisoner compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A prisoner is a person being held in prison as a punishment. During wartime a prisoner is someone held captive by the enemy. Alternately, if you’re so attractive you can’t leave the house, you’re a prisoner of your own good looks. Someone who's caught robbing a bank or stealing a car will probably become a prisoner, locked inside a prison for as long as the sentence specifies. If you feel stuck or confined in some way, you may consider yourself a metaphorical prisoner, like an actor who whines that he’s a prisoner of his own success, since he’s not able to go anywhere without cameras flashing and fans screaming.
Vocabulary lists containing prisoner
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:
Iran accused Qatar of holding three of its air force pilots prisoner, deepening a mystery that dates back to the beginning of the war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
"Political prisoner Emirlendris Benitez and five other women have been released," Foro Penal director Alfredo Romero said on X.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The average annual cost per prisoner in a public-sector prison in England and Wales was £60,018 in 2024/25, according to Ministry of Justice data.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Aside from an unlucky draw, there is a short list of reasons a prisoner ends up here.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
When another prisoner dies, he switches places with the dead body and is buried at sea, after which he swims to freedom and is rescued by friendly smugglers.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Beneath the hospital windows and newly whitewashed walls there are rows of strawberries and cucumbers planted by the prisoners.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Wars come and go, Napoleon rises and falls and these two men remain prisoners of a duty neither seems capable of escaping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The exchange of prisoners took place as required by the agreement, and some aid has been allowed to flow, but the violence has continued.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Earlier, the Russian defence ministry had announced the exchange, stating that "103 Russian servicemen were returned... in exchange, 103 Ukrainian prisoners of war were handed over."
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Afterward, the prisoners changed into their uniforms and were taken to their tiled cells.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
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.
