jail
part of speech
noun (a jail, jails; jail); verb (jail, jails, jailed, jailing)
meaning for a pupil
1) A jail is a building where people are locked up as punishment for crimes or while waiting for trial. tree →
2) To jail someone is to put them in jail. tree →
3) (informal) Any place that feels like you cannot leave. tree →
sense in the lessons
Used in stories, news and games («Go to jail» in Monopoly). Phrases: «in jail», «go to jail», «jail time», «jailed for». It tells the reader someone is being punished or held.
examples
- The thief was sent to jail. tree →
- In the board game, you land on «Go to jail». tree →
- He was jailed for stealing cars. tree →
- The old jail is now a museum. tree →
- The prisoners escaped from jail. tree →
- Being stuck indoors all day felt like jail. tree →
- He tried to protest, but the two officers clapped their paws on his mouth and hustled him away to jail. tree →
note
UK also spells it «gaol» (old-fashioned), same sound. Similar: «prison». No article in «go to jail», «in jail». Jailer = the guard.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «jail» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.