prison

nounverbtop 1 000 in film dialogue

//ˈpɹɪzn̩//
/[pʰɹ̠̊ɪzn̩]/

A place or institution where people are held against their will, in the US especially for long-term confinement, as of those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government.

noun

1
A place or institution where people are held against their will, in the US especially for long-term confinement, as of those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government.
The cold stone walls of the prison had stood for over a century.
2
Confinement in prison.
Prison was a harrowing experience for him.
3
figurativeAny restrictive environment, such as a harsh academy or home.
The academy was a prison for many of its students because of its strict teachers.

Etymology

From Middle English prisoun, prison, from Old English prisūn, a borrowing from Old French prison, from Latin prehensiōnem, accusative singular of prehensiō, from the verb prehendō. Doublet of prehension.

verb

1
To imprison.

Forms

plural: prisons
past tense: prisoned
past participle: prisoned
present participle: prisoning
third person singular: prisons

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prison · A place or institution where people are held against their will, in the US especially for long-term confinement, as of those convicted of serious…

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The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.