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jail

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

jayl
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdʒeɪl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)

  2. A place or institution for the confinement of persons held against their will in lawful custody or detention, especially (in US usage) a place where people are held for minor offenses or with reference to some future judicial proceeding.

  3. uncountable

    Confinement in a jail.

  4. In dodgeball and related games, the area where players who have been struck by the ball are confined.

verb

  1. To imprison.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)

Used this way, jail is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in government or politics contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Specialist/technical
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Specialized
Connotation
Clinical and technical
Usage feel
Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

  • Government/politics

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Nearby words

  • gaol , used mainly in Regional English

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use jail

  • “The suspect was sent to jail after being found guilty.”

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Correctional / place

jail sentence

Dodgeball

city jailcentral jaillocal jail

Other combinations

jail celljail termcommon jailbirmingham jail

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • jail deliverynounCompound term

    The use of force to liberate prisoners.

  • jail cellnounCompound term

    A room where a prisoner is kept.

  • jail birdnounCompound term

    A criminal who has been jailed repeatedly.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial

gaolRegional

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.