jailhouse
/ˈdʒeɪlˌhaʊs/
NOUN
1. A building used as a jail
A building or institution where people are detained under legal authority, including those awaiting trial or serving sentences.
1.1. Prisons and detention facilities
Buildings or institutions where people are held in legal custody.
Synonyms
- jail
- prison
- gaol
- lockup
- penitentiary
- correctional facility
- penal institution
- house of correction
- reformatory
- stockade
- brig
- guardhouse
- tolbooth
Examples
- The old jailhouse was converted into a local history museum.
- The sheriff and his family once lived in the jailhouse alongside the prisoners.
Related Words
- prisoner
- inmate
- detainee
- warden
- jailer
- prison guard
- incarceration
- detention
- confinement
- custody
1.2. Informal and slang terms for a jail
Colloquial or slang expressions used to refer to a prison or place of confinement.
Synonyms
Examples
- The old gangster spent much of his life in the slammer.
- He joked that he never wanted to see the inside of the clink again.
Related Words
- behind bars
- doing time
- prison cell
- lockup
- incarceration
- imprisonment
- confinement