a place for the confinement of persons convicted and sentenced to imprisonment or of persons awaiting trial to whom bail is not granted
- (transitive)
to confine in prison
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
jail /dʒeɪl/USA pronunciation
n.
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025- a prison, esp. one for holding persons who are awaiting trial or are convicted of minor offenses: [countable]The jails were crowded and filthy.[uncountable]He was taken directly to jail. He was in jail for several months.
v. [~ + object]
- to take into or hold in lawful custody;
imprison:He was jailed on a lesser charge.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
jail
( jāl),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
jail′a•ble, adj.
jail′less, adj.
jail′like′, adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- a prison, esp. one for the detention of persons awaiting trial or convicted of minor offenses.
v.t.
- to take into or hold in lawful custody;
imprison.
- Vulgar Latin *gaviola, variant of *caveola, diminutive of Latin cavea cage; see -ole1
- Old North French gaiole, Old French jaiole cage
- Middle English gaiole, jaiole, jaile 1225–75
jail′less, adj.
jail′like′, adj.
gaol
(jāl),USA pronunciation n., v.t. [Brit.]
- British Termsjail.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'go to jail' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):