Synonyms for
Jail
Definition
A place for the confinement of people accused or convicted of a crime.
Synonyms & similar words
Synonyms by register
Literary
Antonyms
Common collocations
- go to jail
- break out of jail
- serve time in jail
- escape from jail
- sentenced to jail
- behind bars
- in jail
Word family
Usage note
While 'jail' and 'prison' are often used interchangeably, 'jail' typically refers to a facility for short-term confinement, often awaiting trial, whereas 'prison' is for longer sentences. 'Gaol' is an older, less common spelling.
Example sentences
- She was arrested and put in jail.
- The criminal was sentenced to five years in jail.
- He was released from jail after serving his sentence.
- The jail was overcrowded with inmates.
- The police officer escorted the suspect to jail.
Quotes
I do not believe that any man fears to be dead, but only the stroke of death. And it is easy to imagine that this stroke may be without pain. Why then should we fear to die? Long life or short life, the same death awaits us. The man who fears death is not afraid of the stroke of death, but he is afraid of the interval between life and death - in other words, of life itself. So it is not the sight of death itself that is terrible, but rather the fear of it. This is why we are so afraid of hanging and of the jail cell. - Seneca
The only way to deal with fear is to face it head-on. If you're afraid of being in jail or being homeless, then you have to go out and volunteer at a homeless shelter or go to a jail and visit the inmates. That's the only way you're going to get over it. - Ice T
I have never been to jail. I have never been arrested. I have never been in a situation where I have had to be bailed out of jail. - Henry Louis Gates