prisonernoun [ C ]
uk/ˈprɪz.ən.ər/us/ˈprɪz.ən.ɚ/B1 a person who is kept in prison as a punishment:
Prisoners climbed onto the prison roof to protest the conditions inside the prison.
See also
political prisoner
hold/keep/take sb prisoner
C2 to catch and guard someone so that they cannot escape:
Of 10,000 troops, 7,000 were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.
The pilot and several passengers were held prisoner by the gunmen for 57 hours.
More examples
- Early this morning, armed police surrounded a house which they thought contained an escaped prisoner.
- Cooped up in a small dark cell, the prisoner hadn't seen daylight for five years.
- Hundreds of prisoners began a fast in protest about prison conditions.
- Arrangements were made to move the prisoners to another jail.
- More than half of all prisoners discharged are reconvicted within two years.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
People held in prison
- captive
- cellmate
- con
- convict
- detainee
- detenu
- gaolbird
- hostage
- inmate
- internee
- jailbird
- lag
- lifer
- political prisoner
- pow
- prisoner of conscience
- prisoner of war
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Putting people in prison
Idiom(s)
take no prisoners