How do you use the word "jail" in a sentence?

Q: How do you use the word "jail" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "jail": By the time you get out of jail, she'll probably have gotten married. In the end, he landed in jail.

Jail Meaning

/d͡ʒeɪl/

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA 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.

nounConfinement in a jail.

Sentence Examples

By the time you get out of jail, she'll probably have gotten married.

In the end, he landed in jail.

She spent a year in jail.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

jug lag gaol

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

After the crime, the criminal was put in ____ for five years.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The thief was sent to ____ for three years after he was caught stealing from the local jewelry store.

Word Origin & History

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *ḱowh₁ós? Proto-Italic *kawos Latin cavus Latin cavea Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -ulus Latin -ola Late Latin caveola Anglo-Norman jaiolebor. Middle English gayole English jail Inherited from Middle English gayole, borrowed from Anglo-Norman jaiole, from Late Latin caveola, from Latin cavea (“cage”) + -ola (diminutive ending). Doublet of caveola and related to cage. More at cajole. Fully displaced native Middle English quartern (“prison, jail, cell”), from Old English cweartern (“jail, prison”). Partially displaced native Middle English lok, from Old English loc (“enclosure, pen; jail, prison”), whence lock; and Middle English carcern, from Old English carcern, from Latin carcer (“prison, jail”). Compare these Old English words, all meaning “jail”: heaþor, heolstorloca (means also “jail cell”), clūstorloc, dung (also “dungeon”), hlinræced, nirwþ, nīedcleofa, hearmloca, and nearu.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"Taking a shower at the high school, Tommy (the Kitten) Cavanaugh kids Ugly Palmers. "Ugly, if you think the world is coming to an end," he says, "what are you wasting your time here at this jail for? You gonna need American history up there?"" — 1966, Robert Coover, “Part II, section 11”, in The Origin of the Brunists, 1st edition, page 218:

"“I’m out!” That, of course, is an excerpt from Robert Durst’s children’s books [sic], Goodbye Jail. “Goodbye money. Goodbye bail. I killed them all, but goodbye jail. Of course! Of course!”" — 2015 June 7, “Bail”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 2, episode 16, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:

"He said Robins had not been in trouble with the law before and had no previous convictions. Jail would have an adverse effect on her and her three children as she was the main carer." — 2011 December 14, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in Guardian:

"It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits." — 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

"A 22-year-old man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years for fatally stabbing 22-year-old Tashan Daniel in an unprovoked attack at Hillingdon Underground station on September 24 2019." — 2020 September 9, “Network News: Man jailed for Hillingdon murder”, in Rail, page 25:

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