First Known Use: 12th century
Dictionary
1prison
noun pris·on \ˈpri-zən\
: a building where people are kept as punishment for a crime or while they are waiting to go to court
: a place or situation from which you cannot escape
Full Definition of PRISON
1
: a state of confinement or captivity
2
: a place of confinement especially for lawbreakers; specifically : an institution (as one under state jurisdiction) for confinement of persons convicted of serious crimes — compare jail
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Origin of PRISON
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin prehension-, prehensio act of seizing, from prehendere to seize — more at get
Related to PRISON
- Synonyms
- bastille, big house [slang], bridewell, brig, calaboose, can, clink [slang], cooler, coop, guardroom, hock, hold, hoosegow, jailhouse, joint [slang], jug, lockup, nick [British slang], pen, penitentiary, pokey [slang], jail, quod [British slang], slam, slammer, stir [slang], stockade, tolbooth [Scottish]
2prison
verb
Definition of PRISON
transitive verb
First Known Use of PRISON
14th century
PRISON Defined for Kids
prison
noun pris·on \ˈpri-zən\
Definition of PRISON for Kids
: a place where criminals are locked up
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