Home Synonyms jail

Synonyms of jail in English:

jail

(British gaol)

See US English definition of jail

See UK English definition of jail

See Spanish definition of cárcel

noun

1‘he was arrested and thrown into jail’

SYNONYMS
prison, penal institution, place of detention, lock-up, place of confinement, guardhouse, correctional facility, detention centre
young offender institution, youth custody centre
North American penitentiary, jailhouse, boot camp, stockade, house of correction
informal the clink, the slammer, inside, stir, the jug, the big house, the brig, the glasshouse
British informal the nick
North American informal the can, the pen, the cooler, the joint, the pokey, the slam, the skookum house, the calaboose, the hoosegow
British informal, dated chokey, bird, quod
historical pound, roundhouse
British historical approved school, borstal, bridewell
Scottish historical tollbooth
historical bastille
North American historical reformatory

verb

1‘she was jailed for killing her husband’

SYNONYMS
imprison, put in prison, send to prison, incarcerate, lock up, take into custody, put under lock and key, put away, intern, confine, detain, hold prisoner, hold captive, hold, put into detention, constrain, immure, put in chains, put in irons, clap in irons
British detain at Her Majesty's pleasure
informal send down, put behind bars, put inside
British informal bang up
ANTONYMS

acquit, release