prisoner

«prisoner» in Mova's school dictionary: kept in prison as a punishment for a crime — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a prisoner, prisoners)

meaning for a pupil

1) A person who is kept in prison as a punishment for a crime. tree →

2) A person who is caught and kept somewhere and is not allowed to leave (a prisoner of war). tree →

3) Someone who feels trapped by something (a prisoner of fear). tree →

sense in the lessons

Used in history (prisoners of war, castles and dungeons), stories and news about crime. Tells the reader someone has lost their freedom. Phrases: «take someone prisoner», «hold prisoner», «prisoner of war», «escaped prisoner».

examples

• The prisoner was locked in a cell. tree →
• The knight was taken prisoner. tree →
• Two prisoners escaped from the jail. tree →
• The pirates held the captain prisoner on their ship. tree →
• Prisoners of war were sent home at the end of the war. tree →
• She felt like a prisoner in her own house during the storm. tree →

note

Countable. Related words: «prison» (the building), «jail» (US «jail», UK also «gaol» — old spelling), «imprison». A «prisoner» is not always a criminal: prisoners of war are soldiers who were captured.

In the corpora

• The old gaoler's rusty key creaks, the door clangs — and Toad is a helpless prisoner.
• "Extraordinary rendition" means secretly moving a prisoner to another country for interrogation, long hard questioning (US).
• "Detainee" means a prisoner, often held without trial (never judged in a court).
• "Guest of His Majesty" is a British joke for a prisoner.
• "Protective custody" means keeping a prisoner alone for their own safety.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «prisoner» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.