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:
When he was finally set free two years ago as part of an extraordinary multi-country prisoner swap, it took him almost as long to heal.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
He was later sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges, but released in 2024 as part of a high-profile prisoner exchange.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Anwar, a former political prisoner, has previously presented himself as a defender of human rights and freedom, and called for more to be done to help the Rohingyas.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
After 16 months in prison—and a global campaign for his release—Evan was finally freed in August 2024, in the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
“Saemi, this is Bobby. I need your help. I’m a prisoner in Japan and I want to get asylum in Iceland. Can you help me?”
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Under the latest early release scheme, eligible prisoners can now be released on a community licence after serving one-third of their jail sentence.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Around 700 offenders are expected to be freed with the first wave on Thursday, as prisoners serving sentences of up to 19 months become eligible for release after a third of their term.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
This means more released prisoners will have to wear electronic tags and be subject to other conditions.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
A group of other Russian and German prisoners were also freed, in exchange for Western countries releasing several Russian assets, including convicted murderer Vadim Krasikov.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Over the course of her subsequent visits, she secretly smuggled food, medicine, money, and letters into the camp—not just for her brother, but for other prisoners too —under threat of death.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
