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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
Alexiah Syrai Olsen, Sacbee.com, 19 May 2026
Furthermore, some of the injections allegedly took place on dates when the clinic was closed, or when the patient who supposedly received the treatment was actually incarcerated in federal prison.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026
Officials claimed no relatives formally requested visitation rights and alleged Quero Navas failed to provide information about family contacts while incarcerated.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 18 May 2026
Weinstein, 74, has been incarcerated since his first rape conviction in 2020.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 15 May 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 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incarcerate
verb
Legal Definition
incarcerate
transitive verb
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison
