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)
lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
Pronunciation
🇺🇸American English
/dʒˈeɪl/
🇬🇧British English
/dʒˈeɪl/
🇮🇳Indian English
/dʒˈeɪl/
1 syllableSay it as /dʒˈeɪl/.
Examples
The suspects were imprisoned without trial
the murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life
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)
verb
lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
“The suspects were imprisoned without trial”
Word Forms
jail
verb
lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
gaol
verb
lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
imprisonment
noun
putting someone in prison or in jail as lawful punishment
incarceration
noun
the state of being imprisoned
immurement
noun
the state of being imprisoned
jailer
noun
someone who guards prisoners
jailor
noun
someone who guards prisoners
jail
noun
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)
gaoler
noun
someone who guards prisoners
gaol
noun
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)
remand
noun
the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial)
Around the World
Europe
🇩🇪German
Gefängnis
eine Justizvollzugsanstalt, in der Personen festgehalten werden, die sich im rechtmäßigen Gewahrsam der Regierung befinden (entweder angeklagte Personen, die auf ihren Prozess warten, oder verurteilte Personen, die eine Strafe verbüßen)
🇫🇷French
prison
un établissement correctionnel utilisé pour détenir des personnes qui sont sous la garde légale du gouvernement (soit des accusés en attente de procès, soit des personnes condamnées purgeant une peine)
🇪🇸Spanish
celda
una institución correccional utilizada para detener a personas que están bajo custodia legal del gobierno (ya sean acusados en espera de juicio o personas condenadas que cumplen una sentencia)
🇮🇹Italian
prigione
un istituto correzionale utilizzato per detenere persone che si trovano sotto la custodia legale del governo (imputati in attesa di processo o persone condannate che stanno scontando una pena)
🇳🇱Dutch
gevangenis
een penitentiaire inrichting die wordt gebruikt om personen vast te houden die onder de wettige hechtenis van de overheid vallen (beklaagden die in afwachting zijn van hun proces of veroordeelden die een straf uitzitten)
🇵🇹Portuguese
cadeia
uma instituição correcional usada para deter pessoas que estão sob custódia legal do governo (sejam pessoas acusadas que aguardam julgamento ou pessoas condenadas cumprindo pena)
🇷🇺Russian
тюрьма
исправительное учреждение, используемое для содержания лиц, находящихся на законном содержании под стражей у государства (как обвиняемых, ожидающих суда, так и осужденных, отбывающих наказание)
India
🇮🇳Hindi
जेल
एक सुधारात्मक संस्था जिसका उपयोग उन व्यक्तियों को हिरासत में लेने के लिए किया जाता है जो सरकार की कानूनी हिरासत में हैं (या तो मुकदमे की प्रतीक्षा कर रहे आरोपी व्यक्ति या सजा काट रहे दोषी व्यक्ति)
🇧🇩Bengali
জেল
সরকারের আইনানুগ হেফাজতে থাকা ব্যক্তিদের আটক করার জন্য একটি সংশোধনমূলক প্রতিষ্ঠান ব্যবহৃত হয় (হয় অভিযুক্ত ব্যক্তিরা বিচারের অপেক্ষায় বা দণ্ডিত ব্যক্তিরা সাজা ভোগ করছেন)
🇮🇳Tamil
சிறை
அரசாங்கத்தின் சட்டப்பூர்வ காவலில் உள்ள நபர்களை (விசாரணைக்காக காத்திருக்கும் குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்ட நபர்கள் அல்லது தண்டனை அனுபவிக்கும் குற்றவாளிகள்) தடுத்து வைக்கப் பயன்படுத்தப்படும் ஒரு சீர்திருத்த நிறுவனம்
🇮🇳Telugu
జైలు
ప్రభుత్వం యొక్క చట్టబద్ధమైన కస్టడీలో ఉన్న వ్యక్తులను నిర్బంధించడానికి ఉపయోగించే ఒక దిద్దుబాటు సంస్థ (విచారణ కోసం ఎదురుచూస్తున్న నిందితులు లేదా శిక్ష అనుభవిస్తున్న దోషులు)
🇮🇳Marathi
तुरुंग
सरकारच्या कायदेशीर कोठडीत असलेल्या व्यक्तींना ताब्यात घेण्यासाठी वापरण्यात येणारी सुधारात्मक संस्था (एकतर खटल्याच्या प्रतीक्षेत असलेले आरोपी किंवा शिक्षा भोगत असलेल्या दोषी व्यक्ती)
🇮🇳Gujarati
જેલ
સરકારની કાયદેસર કસ્ટડીમાં હોય તેવી વ્યક્તિઓને અટકાયતમાં લેવા માટે વપરાતી સુધારાત્મક સંસ્થા (ક્યાં તો ટ્રાયલની રાહ જોઈ રહેલી આરોપીઓ અથવા સજા ભોગવી રહેલા દોષિત વ્યક્તિઓ)
🇮🇳Kannada
ಜೈಲು
ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಕಾನೂನುಬದ್ಧ ವಶದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಬಂಧಿಸಲು ಬಳಸುವ ತಿದ್ದುಪಡಿ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ (ವಿಚಾರಣೆಗಾಗಿ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಆರೋಪಿಗಳು ಅಥವಾ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ ಅನುಭವಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಅಪರಾಧಿಗಳು)
🇮🇳Malayalam
ജയിൽ
സർക്കാരിൻ്റെ നിയമാനുസൃത കസ്റ്റഡിയിലുള്ള വ്യക്തികളെ തടങ്കലിൽ വയ്ക്കാൻ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്ന ഒരു തിരുത്തൽ സ്ഥാപനം (ഒന്നുകിൽ വിചാരണ കാത്തിരിക്കുന്ന കുറ്റാരോപിതർ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ശിക്ഷ അനുഭവിക്കുന്ന കുറ്റവാളികൾ)
ایک اصلاحی ادارہ ان افراد کو حراست میں لینے کے لیے استعمال کیا جاتا ہے جو حکومت کی قانونی تحویل میں ہیں (یا تو ملزم افراد مقدمے کا انتظار کر رہے ہیں یا سزا یافتہ افراد سزا کاٹ رہے ہیں)
정부의 합법적인 구금 하에 있는 사람(피고인이 재판을 기다리고 있거나 형을 선고받은 사람)을 구금하는 데 사용되는 교정 기관
🇻🇳Vietnamese
nhà tù
một cơ sở cải huấn được sử dụng để giam giữ những người đang bị chính phủ giam giữ hợp pháp (người bị buộc tội đang chờ xét xử hoặc người bị kết án đang thụ án)
lembaga pemasyarakatan yang digunakan untuk menahan orang-orang yang berada dalam tahanan sah pemerintah (baik terdakwa yang menunggu persidangan atau terpidana yang sedang menjalani hukuman)
🇵🇭Filipino
kulungan
isang institusyon ng pagwawasto na ginagamit upang pigilan ang mga taong nasa legal na pag-iingat ng gobyerno (alinman sa mga akusado na naghihintay ng paglilitis o mga nahatulang taong nagsisilbi ng sentensiya)
🇲🇾Malay
penjara
institusi pembetulan yang digunakan untuk menahan orang yang berada dalam jagaan sah kerajaan (sama ada orang tertuduh yang menunggu perbicaraan atau orang yang disabitkan kesalahan menjalani hukuman)
Middle East
🇸🇦Arabic
سجن
مؤسسة إصلاحية تستخدم لاحتجاز الأشخاص المحتجزين بشكل قانوني لدى الحكومة (إما المتهمين الذين ينتظرون المحاكمة أو الأشخاص المدانين الذين يقضون عقوبة)
🇮🇷Persian
زندان
یک مؤسسه اصلاحی که برای بازداشت افرادی که در بازداشت قانونی دولت هستند (اعم از افراد متهم در انتظار محاکمه یا محکومان در حال اجرای مجازات) استفاده می شود.
🇹🇷Turkish
hapishane
Hükümetin yasal gözetimi altındaki kişileri (ya yargılanmayı bekleyen sanıklar ya da cezasını çekmekte olan hükümlü kişiler) alıkoymak için kullanılan bir ıslah kurumu.
🇮🇱Hebrew
כֵּלֵא
מוסד תיקון המשמש למעצר אנשים הנמצאים במשמורת חוקית של הממשלה (או נאשמים הממתינים למשפט או מורשעים המרצים עונש)
Test Yourself1 / 3
What is the primary definition of the word 'jail'?
The primary meaning of 'jail' is '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)'.
Which of the following sentences uses the word 'jail' in a grammatically correct way?
Using 'jail' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.
In which domain is the word 'jail' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?
'jail' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.
Community Poll1 / 6
How often do you encounter the word 'jail' in your daily reading?
Very Often
Occasionally
Rarely
Never
Do you find 'jail' easy to spell?
Yes, very easy
Somewhat easy
A bit confusing
Extremely hard
In your opinion, does the word 'jail' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?
Positive
Neutral
Gloomy
Vibrant
Which age group is most likely to use 'jail' in regular conversations?
Kids (3-12)
Teens (13-19)
Adults (20-60)
Seniors (60+)
How likely are you to use 'jail' in a professional email?
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not very likely
Never
Would you classify 'jail' as formal, casual, or slang?
Formal
Casual
Slang
Archaic
Pick an option to see how others voted
This word is also in the Advanced book — want the full, immersive treatment (age meanings, culture, creative use, deeper Hindi & exercises)?
Open the Advanced entry →
LLOS.ai uses minimal cookies to remember your preferences and improve the site. Cookie policy.
LLLOS.AI
Welcome back
Choose how you’d like to sign in. Most people use Google — it’s the fastest.