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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
Amethyst Martinez,
USA Today,
30 June 2026
Caleb Crawford was incarcerated in 2016 after indecently touching his cousin, a 12-year-old girl at the time.
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Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 June 2026
Jones was incarcerated at Garner Correctional Institution on March 25, 2018, when officers transferred him to the mental health unit within the prison for monitoring.
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Ginny Monk,
Hartford Courant,
27 June 2026
Attorneys for plaintiffs in the case say Hochman is vastly overstating the level of fraud and relying on databases with faulty information about who was incarcerated in county custody as a juvenile.
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Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for incarcerate
Cite this Entry
“Incarcerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarcerate. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incarcerate
verb
Legal Definition
incarcerate
transitive verb
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison
