# jail

/ˈdʒeɪɫ/ (US) · /dʒˈeɪl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/jail
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. a place of punishment

noun · CEFR B1

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

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

- He spent two nights in jail after the police arrested him for the disturbance.
- The suspect was held in the local jail for forty-eight hours while the prosecutor decided whether to file formal charges.

### 2. confinement

noun · CEFR B2

the state of being in a jail.

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

- The judge sentenced the thief to six months of jail.
- The threat of jail served as a deterrent for some, though critics argued that rehabilitation was a more effective long-term solution.

### 3. computing sandbox

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

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

- The administrator set up a jail to test the new software safely.
- By running the web server within a jail, the administrator ensured that a potential security breach would not compromise the entire file system.

### 4. to put in prison

verb · CEFR B1

to put someone in jail.

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

- The government decided to jail the protesters for breaking the new laws.
- The court moved to jail the defendant immediately following the verdict, citing a significant risk that he might flee the country.

## Examples

- The thief spent two nights in jail.
- After the police caught the suspect, they took him to the local jail for questioning.
- The reform bill aims to reduce the number of non-violent offenders held in county jail while they await their court dates.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.