variants
or less commonly cell mate
plural cellmates also cell mates
: a person who shares a prison cell with another prisoner
When his cellmates learned that his bond had been set at $1 million (and bail at $500,000), they broke into laughter and shook their heads in disbelief.—
Richard Behar
Richard BeharWithin a week, guards came by at night and told me to get ready. … I said goodbye to my cellmates and gathered my things …—Clare Morgana Gillis
Clare Morgana GillisExamples of cellmate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Marlowe and Shakespeare were just refreshers for me and also gave me a chance to act out monologues for my cellmates, much to their delight and confusion.
—Jeremy O. Harris, Vanity Fair, 1 Apr. 2026
The man alerted jail deputies that his cellmate, 35-year-old Vincent Chacon, was choking and needed help in the early morning of June 30, according to a probable cause affidavit.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2026
Smith also faces murder charges in a separate Colorado case in which he is accused of killing his cellmate in the Denver Jail.
—Jesse Sarles, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Van Tine, 41, was severely beaten inside the jail by a cellmate whose history of violence was known to staff, the lawsuit alleges.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cellmate
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Jeremy O. Harris, Vanity Fair, 1 Apr. 2026
The man alerted jail deputies that his cellmate, 35-year-old Vincent Chacon, was choking and needed help in the early morning of June 30, according to a probable cause affidavit.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2026
Smith also faces murder charges in a separate Colorado case in which he is accused of killing his cellmate in the Denver Jail.
—Jesse Sarles, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Van Tine, 41, was severely beaten inside the jail by a cellmate whose history of violence was known to staff, the lawsuit alleges.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cellmate
Cite this Entry
“Cellmate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cellmate. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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