prisoner

[ priz-uh-ner, priz-ner ]

noun

1. a person who is confined in prison or kept in custody, especially as the result of legal process.
2. prisoner of war.
3. a person or thing that is deprived of liberty or kept in restraint.

prisoner

/ ˈprɪzənə /

noun

1. a person deprived of liberty and kept in prison or some other form of custody as a punishment for a crime, while awaiting trial, or for some other reason
2. a person confined by any of various restraints

   we are all prisoners of time

3. take no prisoners informal.
   to be uncompromising and resolute in one's actions
4. take someone prisoner
   to capture and hold someone as a prisoner, esp as a prisoner of war

Word History and Origins

Origin of prisoner¹

1300–50; Middle English < Anglo-French. See prison, -er ²

Example Sentences

"A captor attempts to feed his prisoner to a monster, and there are other scenes of threat involving bombs, hostages and a hero being frozen alive."

From BBC

The mother of a prisoner, who is still in jail 18 years after being given a "cruel and unjust" indefinite prison term, is calling for MPs to back a bill to resentence all 2,734 prisoners in his situation who are still behind bars.

From BBC

"I walked past a prisoner the other day who shouted, 'sing us a song'."

From BBC

During his service to the British Empire, the RAF flight lieutenant flew several missions before being shot down, captured and placed in a prisoner of war camp.

From BBC

Flt Lt Smythe spent 18 months in Stalag Luft I prisoner of war camp in Barth, Germany, before being liberated and flown back to Britain.

From BBC

Related Words

• captive
• convict
• detainee
• hostage