as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
told harrowing stories of his years spent in the big house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for big house
Noun
-
Ghaly pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and was sentenced in November to 230 days in jail, plus probation.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 July 2025 -
The American-Statesman and KVUE-TV recently discovered dozens of instances in which felony defendants stayed in jail well beyond 90 days without an indictment.—
Tony Plohetski,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
Noun
-
But local officials and historians have questioned the practical and symbolic implications of converting the island back into a penitentiary.—
Kate Talerico,
Mercury News,
17 July 2025
-
Her various occupations, paid and unpaid, included teaching convicts at an area penitentiary and substitute-teaching in junior high.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 June 2025
Noun
-
Widmer was convicted of murder at his third trial in 2011, and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.—
Victoria Moorwood,
The Enquirer,
31 July 2025
-
Brendan Doyle, who was also convicted of identity theft and robbery, was sentenced last year to 28 years and eight months to life in prison.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 July 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Big house.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/big%20house. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share