Jail
WordNet

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)

verb


(2)   Lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
"The suspects were imprisoned without trial"
"The murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life"
WiktionaryText

Etymology


From < <

Noun



  1. A prison; a place of detention; a place where a person convicted or suspected of a crime is detained.
  2. Confinement in a jail.
  3. school
    I have to go to jail for 5 days per week.
  4. The requirements that a horse claimed in a claiming race not be run at another track for (usually) 30 days.

Usage notes

Like many nouns denoting places where people spend time, requires no article after certain prepositions: hence , , and so on. The forms , , and so on do exist, but tend to imply mere presence in the jail, rather than detention there.
 
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