jail

jail — noun

1. a building where people are locked up by the government as a punishment for a cr

1.nounB1
Definition

a building where people are locked up by the government as a punishment for a crime or while they wait for a court to decide on their case

Example

A man who stole a car was sent to jail for two years.

sent to jail + for [duration]

The woman waited in jail for a week before her court date.

in jail + time reference

Common collocations
  • in jail
  • to jail
  • out of jail
  • jail sentence
  • jail time
  • jail cell
Synonyms
  • prison

    the most common synonym; 'prison' often implies longer sentences and larger facilities, while 'jail' can be smaller and more local

  • lockup

    informal term for a small local jail, often a temporary holding space at a police station

  • penitentiary

    formal term for a large prison for long-term inmates, more common in American English

Antonyms
  • freedom

    the state of not being confined in a jail

Grammar Patterns

in jail

sent to jail

out of jail

jail sentence

Usage Note

In phrases like 'in jail' or 'sent to jail', the article 'the' is usually dropped. This zero-article pattern signals the abstract concept of incarceration rather than a specific building.

Common Mistakes

The thief was sent to the jail for three years.
The thief was sent to jail for three years.
When referring to incarceration as a punishment, the article 'the' is not used.

jail — verb

Word family

  • jailer
    nounC1
  • jailbreak
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

In American English, 'jail' and 'prison' have distinct uses even though many learners treat them as the same. A jail is usually a local facility run by a city or county, where people are held for short periods — either before a trial (while waiting for a court date) or for minor crimes with short sentences. A prison (or 'penitentiary' in formal use) is a larger, state- or federal-run facility where people serve long sentences for serious crimes. 'Lockup' is an informal word for a small holding cell at a police station, used for only a few hours or overnight. For example: a person arrested for a small theft might spend the night in a lockup, then be moved to the county jail until their court date, and only be sent to prison if they are found guilty of a major crime.

jail ↗prison ↗lockuppenitentiary

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • in and out of jail

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'jail' comes from Old French 'jaiole' or 'gaiole', meaning a cage or prison. This French word came from Latin 'caveola', a smaller form of 'cavea', which meant a hollow space or a cage. 'Cavea' is also the root of the English word 'cage', so 'jail' and 'cage' are related by history.