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Just as English is full of nouns referring to places where prisoners are confined, from the familiar (jail and prison) to the obscure (calaboose and bridewell), so we have multiple verbs for the action of putting people behind bars. Some words can be used as both nouns and verbs, if in slightly different forms: one can be jailed in a jail, imprisoned in a prison, locked up in a lockup, or even jugged in a jug. Incarcerate does not have such a noun equivalent in English—incarceration refers to the state of confinement rather than a physical structure—but it comes ultimately from the Latin noun carcer, meaning “prison.” Incarcerate is also on the formal end of the spectrum when it comes to words related to the law and criminal justice, meaning you are more likely to read or hear about someone incarcerated in a penitentiary or detention center than in the pokey or hoosegow.
Examples of incarcerate in a Sentence
Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 19 July 2025
Today, it's based in Milwaukee and airs across the country to people who are home-bound or incarcerated.
—Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 18 July 2025
They were sent to El Salvador despite a judge’s order to return them to the United States and incarcerated at the CECOT maximum-security prison.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 18 July 2025
Inspired by true events, the Argentina-Spain co-production turns on Andrea, a mother visiting her incarcerated son for the first time.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for incarcerate
Cite this Entry
“Incarcerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarcerate. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incarcerate
verb
Legal Definition
incarcerate
transitive verb
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison
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