a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
"The defendant was transferred to prison immediately after being held in bail pending his upcoming sentencing hearing."
a prisonlike situation; a place of seeming confinement
"After his car broke down in the middle of nowhere, he felt like he was trapped in a prison without walls."
A place or institution of confinement, especially of long-term confinement for those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government.
"After serving twenty years in prison for his violent offenses, he was finally released on parole."
In plain English: A prison is a secure building where people who have broken the law are locked up as punishment.
"The famous criminal was sent to prison for ten years after being found guilty of robbery."
Usage: Use "prison" to refer specifically to a secure facility where people are held against their will after being convicted of serious crimes. Do not use it interchangeably with "jail," which typically denotes short-term detention for those awaiting trial or serving minor sentences.
To imprison.
"The judge decided to prison the thief for five years after he was found guilty of burglary."
In plain English: To prison means to force someone into jail as punishment for breaking the law.
"The harsh winter conditions effectively imprisoned the travelers in their cabin for days."
Usage: The verb form of prison means to confine or lock someone up, though it is rarely used in modern English compared to its noun form. You will almost always hear people say that someone was imprisoned rather than saying they were prisoned.
The word "prison" entered Middle English from Old French and ultimately derives from the Latin prehensio, meaning a seizing or holding. While its root relates to the act of catching someone, it evolved specifically to describe a place where people are held captive.