1
: a person deprived of liberty and kept under involuntary restraint, confinement, or custody
especially
: one on trial or in prison
2
: someone restrained as if in prison
a prisoner of her own conscience
see also take-no-prisoners, take no prisoners
Examples of prisoner in a Sentence
He was captured by rebel forces and kept as their prisoner for several months before they set him free.
The families were held prisoner for four days.
Recent Examples on the Web
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have assisted with prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine; Abu Dhabi recently claimed that its efforts allowed 2,200 prisoners to return home.
—
Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024
Limited Options for Release While some Americans detained in Russia have been released in high-profile prisoner swaps, not all face clear pathways to freedom.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Such schemes have been going on for at least two decades, per the FBI, which has tracked some virtual kidnappings in the U.S. back to Mexican prisoners specifically targeting Spanish speakers.
—Emily Palmer, People.com, 31 Oct. 2024
The Swedish company was the subject of an investigation by auditors Ernst & Young in 2012, which scoured through tens of thousands of documents and archival objects to find that Ikea used prisoners to make its furniture in communist East Germany.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune Europe, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prisoner 
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Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024
Limited Options for Release While some Americans detained in Russia have been released in high-profile prisoner swaps, not all face clear pathways to freedom.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Such schemes have been going on for at least two decades, per the FBI, which has tracked some virtual kidnappings in the U.S. back to Mexican prisoners specifically targeting Spanish speakers.
—Emily Palmer, People.com, 31 Oct. 2024
The Swedish company was the subject of an investigation by auditors Ernst & Young in 2012, which scoured through tens of thousands of documents and archival objects to find that Ikea used prisoners to make its furniture in communist East Germany.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune Europe, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prisoner
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Cite this Entry
“Prisoner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prisoner. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prisoner
noun
pris·on·er
ˈpriz-nər 
-ᵊn-ər
: a person who has been captured or locked up
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