prisoner
Americannoun
-
a person who is confined in prison or kept in custody, especially as the result of legal process.
-
a person or thing that is deprived of liberty or kept in restraint.
noun
-
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
-
a person confined by any of various restraints
we are all prisoners of time
-
informal to be uncompromising and resolute in one's actions
-
to capture and hold someone as a prisoner, esp as a prisoner of war
Etymology
Origin of prisoner
Compare meaning
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.
The violin in Baerwald’s hands was the one his German-Jewish grandfather played as a Japanese prisoner of war in the Bandō camp at Tokushima during World War I. “It’s a very serviceable violin,” Baerwald notes.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
He was considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
From Barron's • May 31, 2026
So, why would an innocent prisoner seek compassionate release?
From Slate • May 29, 2026
The bigtime journalist Tyler, it seems, is in Khartoum, awaiting an interview with a Sudanese prisoner of war, part of his research for a new book.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
“He’s been through a lot. Getting captured in Tartarus, being held prisoner in that bronze jar, watching Percy and Annabeth fall...”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
