1
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
specifically
: such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (such as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes compare prison
2
: confinement in a jail
sentenced to jail
Examples of jail in a Sentence
Noun
He was locked up in the county jail.
He was arrested and sent to jail.
He went to jail for his crimes.
He just got out of jail a few weeks ago.
He was kept in jail overnight.
Verb
threatened to jail the punks if they so much as jaywalked
Recent Examples on the Web
Heath Kalb, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2026
The city's police force is understaffed and its public safety apparatus is inadequate to deliver justice, with too little jail space and too few prosecutors and judges to move cases through the courts.
—Cleve R. Wootson Jr. The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 25 Mar. 2026
Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026
Blackerby set a total $2,001 bond for Moore, who spent nearly three weeks jailed in coastal Camden County.
—ABC News, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for jail
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Noun
Prosecutors say Agee was arraigned on March 19 and remanded to jail.
—Heath Kalb, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2026
The city's police force is understaffed and its public safety apparatus is inadequate to deliver justice, with too little jail space and too few prosecutors and judges to move cases through the courts.
—Cleve R. Wootson Jr. The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 25 Mar. 2026
Verb
Duggar, who is jailed at the Washington County Detention Center, awaits extradition to Florida.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026
Blackerby set a total $2,001 bond for Moore, who spent nearly three weeks jailed in coastal Camden County.
—ABC News, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for jail
Cite this Entry
“Jail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jail. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
jail
noun
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
specifically
: such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes compare house of correction, house of detention, lockup, penitentiary, prison
jail
transitive verb
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