prison
prison Lexical Profile
prison Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A secure building or correctional facility where people are legally held as a punishment for a crime they have committed or while awaiting trial.
"The historic prison on the island has been converted into a public museum."
The state or condition of being forcibly confined or incarcerated, or any place or situation from which it is difficult or impossible to escape.
"He felt that his monotonous routine had become a prison of his own making."
• verb
To confine, detain, or keep in or as if in a prison (chiefly literary or poetic).
"The ancient legend tells of a spirit prisoned within the hollow trunk of an oak tree."
Word Nuance & Usage
In American legal usage, a 'prison' typically refers to a state or federal facility for long-term sentences, whereas a 'jail' is a local facility for short-term confinement or pre-trial detention. When referring to the state of incarceration rather than the physical building, the article is omitted (e.g., 'sent to prison').
• Rhymes for prison
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old French prison ('captivity, imprisonment'), derived from Latin prensio (a contraction of prehensio), meaning 'a taking, arresting, or seizing,' from the verb prehendere ('to seize').