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Dictionary Language resources

jail

Syllabification: (jail)

Pronunciation: /jāl/

(British also gaol)

Translate jail | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish

Definition of jail

noun

a place for the confinement of people accused or convicted of a crime:he spent 15 years in jail [as modifier]:a jail sentence
confinement in a jail:she was sentenced to three months' jail

verb

[with object] (usually be jailed)

put (someone) in jail:the driver was jailed for two years

Origin:

Middle English: based on Latin cavea (see cage). The word came into English in two forms, jaiole from Old French and gayole from Anglo-Norman French gaole (surviving in the spelling gaol), originally pronounced with a hard g, as in gale