jail
noun
a prison, especially one for the detention of persons awaiting trial or convicted of minor offenses.
were jailing
-
past progressiveof jail.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Back then, prisons were rapidly running out of cells because courts were jailing more criminals than the number being released - part of a 30-year trend.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Courts like Stirling, Kilmarnock and Dundee were jailing nearly 20% of women appearing before them, compared to 7% in Edinburgh and 5% in Airdrie.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2016
