prison

pris·on

Alcatraz in San Francisco, CA is a tourist destination and no longer a prison.

noun

The definition of a prison is a building comprised of different cells or locked rooms designed to house prisoners who are sentenced to a correctional institution for breaking laws.

Alcatraz, an island in San Francisco Bay where convicted murderers and criminals were kept in cells, was an example of a prison.

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"prison." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/prison>.

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prison. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/prison

prison

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
the state or condition of being confined, restricted, or limited in any way: in the prison of his own desires

Origin of prison

Old French from Classical Latin from prensio, for prehensio, a taking from prehendere, to take: see prehensile

Archaic imprison

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"prison." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/prison>.

APA Style

prison. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/prison

prison

noun

A place for the confinement and punishment of persons convicted of crimes, especially felonies.
A state of imprisonment or captivity: years spent in prison.
A place or condition of confinement or restriction: felt his job had been a prison.

transitive verb

pris·oned, pris·on·ing, pris·ons

To confine in or as if in a prison; imprison.

Origin of prison

Middle English from Old French alteration ( influenced by Old French pris taken ) of Latin prēnsiō prēnsiōn- a seizing from prehēnsiō from prehēnsus past participle of prehendere to seize ; see ghend- in Indo-European roots.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"prison." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/prison>.

APA Style

prison. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/prison

Noun

(countable and uncountable, plural prisons)

A place of long-term confinement for those convicted of serious crimes, or otherwise considered undesirable by the government.
The cold stone walls of the prison had stood for over a century.
(uncountable) Confinement in prison.
Prison was a harrowing experience for him.
(colloquial) Any restrictive environment, such as a harsh academy or home.
The academy was a prison for many of its students because of its strict teachers.