prison Hear it!

prison Definition

prison (priz′ən)

noun

  1. a place where persons are confined
    1. a building, usually with cells, where convicted criminals, esp. those serving longer sentences, are confined
    2. such a place for holding accused persons who are awaiting, or on, trial
  3. the state or condition of being confined, restricted, or limited in any way in the prison of his own desires

Etymology: OFr < L < prensio, for prehensio, a taking < prehendere, to take: see prehensile

transitive verb

Archaic imprison

prison Synonyms

prison

n.

penitentiary, reformatory, prison house, panopticon, guardhouse, stockade; see also jail.

prison Law Definition

n

See penal institution, jail, and penitentiary.

prison Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • overcrowd: The prison is to house 100 prisoners during the first phase, who will mainly be transferred from the overcrowded prisons in Maputo.
  • convict: It was named after the former convict prison at Borstal, Kent, where the system was pioneered.
  • escape: I felt like I was escaping a prison and leaving Mrs A behind as a captive!

Adjective modifier

  • federal: Two of the ringleaders were sentenced to 18 years in federal prison.
  • notorious: In addition, the notorious prison at Kidal ( a symbol of the years of repression ) was closed in 1997.
  • Israeli: About 1,500 of the estimated 7,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons began a hunger strike for improved conditions on Sunday.
  • Turkish: He detailed the struggle against isolation cells in Turkish prisons and the death fast, which has claimed 91 lives in 18 months.

Modifies a noun

  • sentence: Franklin, facing a long prison sentence, agreed.
  • inmate: Electronic identification chips have found their way into everything from Gillette shavers to prison inmates.
  • camp: In World War II, crystal sets were used by prisoners of war in prison camps to listen to news from home.
  • population: Florida has the highest prison population per capita in the nation.
  • governor: Who decides what the policy means in practice, doctor or prison governor?
  • overcrowding: The practice of imprisoning asylum seekers places an unacceptable strain on a public service already stretched to breaking point by prison overcrowding.

Noun used with modifier

  • maximum-security: McCorkle ( 1992 ) found that older men in a maximum-security prison displayed distinct avoidance behaviors when fearful.
  • high-security: Mrs Lingard was a former senior prison officer at Wakefield high-security prison in West Yorkshire.
  • remand: The remand prisons are much better than the situation at the camp.
  • security: They don't want a 150-strong film crew around a high security prison.

Possessives

debtor: A debtors ' prison for 150 years, with walls covered in prisoners ' graffiti.

Preposition: for

  • contempt: If you do not, you may be sent to prison for contempt of court.
  • murder: Leo has been released on parole after serving 15 years in prison for murder.