| Alger Hiss |
a lawyer and U.S. public official accused in 1948 of having acted as a Communist spy in the 1930s. Convicted in 1950 on counts of perjury related to the investigation, Hiss was sentenced to five years in prison but maintained his innocence until his death (b.1904--d.1996). |
| bastille |
(cap.) the state prison in Paris that was attacked and taken by French revolutionists in 1789. [2 definitions] |
| behind bars |
in jail or prison. |
| breakout |
a forceful escape from a restricting place or situation, such as prison. |
| brig |
the prison compartment on board a ship. [1/2 definitions] |
| calaboose |
(informal) a jail or prison. |
| cell block |
a unit consisting of multiple cells in a prison. |
| cellmate |
a person that one shares a prison or jail cell with. |
| commute |
to reduce the severity of (a prison sentence). [1/7 definitions] |
| concentration camp |
a prison camp in which large numbers of political prisoners, aliens, or those considered undesirable are confined and sometimes executed. |
| convict |
a person who is serving time in jail or prison. [1/3 definitions] |
| death house |
a prison building where prisoners awaiting execution are housed, and where execution takes place. |
| death row |
a part of a prison where prisoners awaiting execution are housed. |
| Dorothea Dix |
U.S. social activist, reformer, and Union army Superintendent of Women Nurses, who worked to improve prison conditions and to provide asylums for the mentally ill (b.1802--d.1887). |
| do time |
to spend time in jail or prison as a person convicted of a crime. |
| durance |
involuntary and usu. extended confinement, as in a prison. |
| escapee |
someone who has escaped, esp. from a prison or mental institution. |
| hard labor |
compulsory physical labor imposed as part of a prison sentence. |
| hole |
an isolated cell in a prison. [1/9 definitions] |
| house arrest |
legal confinement of a person under arrest in his or her home, a hospital, or a public building rather than in jail or prison. |
| imprison |
to put or keep in a prison or other place of confinement. [2 definitions] |