prisoner

American  

[priz-uh-ner, priz-ner] / ˈprɪz ə nər, ˈprɪz nər /

noun

1. a person who is confined in prison or kept in custody, especially as the result of legal process.

2. prisoner of war.

3. a person or thing that is deprived of liberty or kept in restraint.

---

prisoner British  

/ ˈprɪzənə /

noun

1. 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

2. a person confined by any of various restraints

   we are all prisoners of time

3. informal to be uncompromising and resolute in one's actions

4. to capture and hold someone as a prisoner, esp as a prisoner of war

---

Etymology

Origin of prisoner

1300–50; Middle English < Anglo-French. See prison, -er ²

Compare meaning

How does prisoner compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• inmate vs. prisoner

Example Sentences

Thousands of California prisoners falsely tested positive for opioids last year because of a laboratory mistake.

From Los Angeles Times

A train carrying political prisoners had been stopped and seven, or seventeen, or seventy, had made it away.

From Literature

Several times I had watched columns of prisoners of war being marched along the streets in Dresden.

From Literature

Havana also released political prisoners as part of an agreement with the Vatican, a historic mediator between the two nations.

From Barron's

Now liberated, it is the gateway for freed Ukrainian prisoners of war heading home.

From Barron's

Related Words

• captive
• convict
• detainee
• hostage