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jail

n. · v.
US //ˈdʒeɪɫ// UK //dʒˈeɪl// jail
  1. 1 a place of punishment (n.)
    B1 Intermediate Law

    a building where people are kept as a punishment for a crime or while waiting for a trial.

    a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody, typically for minor offences or while awaiting judicial proceedings.

    Example

    He spent two nights in jail after the police arrested him for the disturbance.

    Example

    The suspect was held in the local jail for forty-eight hours while the prosecutor decided whether to file formal charges.
  2. 2 confinement (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the state of being in a jail.

    the state or condition of being confined in a correctional facility.

    Example

    The judge sentenced the thief to six months of jail.

    Example

    The threat of jail served as a deterrent for some, though critics argued that rehabilitation was a more effective long-term solution.
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  1. 3 computing sandbox (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    a safe, isolated area on a computer where a program can run without affecting other parts of the system.

    a virtualised environment that isolates a process or guest operating system from the rest of the host system for security purposes.

    Example

    The administrator set up a jail to test the new software safely.

    Example

    By running the web server within a jail, the administrator ensured that a potential security breach would not compromise the entire file system.
  2. 4 to put in prison (v.)
    B1 Intermediate Law

    to put someone in jail.

    to confine a person in a jail or prison facility; functions as a transitive verb.

    Example

    The government decided to jail the protesters for breaking the new laws.

    Example

    The court moved to jail the defendant immediately following the verdict, citing a significant risk that he might flee the country.
Origin

From Middle English gayole, gaylle, gaille, gayle, gaile, from Old French gaiole, gayolle, gaole, from Medieval Latin gabiola, from Late Latin caveola (“small cage, cell”), a diminutive of Latin cavea (“cavity, coop, cage”). 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.

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