as in prisoner
a person convicted as a criminal and serving a prison sentence had spent most of his sorry life as a jailbird in hoosegows across the South

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of jailbird Her jumpsuit is a couture twist on the cartoonish striped getup of a jailbird. Jemal Polson, CNN Money, 8 May 2025 Becomes a jailbird at a high-security zoo after he’s caught, with the newest Wallace & Gromit film, Vengeance Most Fowl, finding Feathers, all these years later, hell-bent on getting even with the duo who locked him up. Devon Ivie, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2025 Plot: Homer acquires Snake’s luxurious hair after the jailbird is sent to the electric chair. Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024 Twenty years later, an actress named Selma Vaz Dias, who wanted to dramatize Good Morning, Midnight on the radio, found her living in poverty and obscurity in the English countryside with a third husband who also ended an embezzler and a jailbird. Vivian Gornick, The New Republic, 6 Jan. 2023 The jailbird and guard stayed in touch over the phone, according to Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton. Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 11 May 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jailbird
Noun
  • The flintlock pistol that Torres is given by the Yautja to fight his fellow prisoners is known by Predator fans as the Raphael Adolini 1715 pistol for an engraved plate that says just that.
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 June 2025
  • Neither side disclosed the exact number of prisoners released so far, citing security concerns.
    Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025
Noun
  • His efforts aimed to reduce recidivism rates and promote policies that support the successful reentry of former inmates into society.
    Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
  • Cooper added that the Sheriff’s Office is facing financial challenges due to the implementation of the Mays Consent Decree, the result of a settlement that found Sacramento County failed to provide humane treatment of its jail inmates.
    Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 6 June 2025
Noun
  • If prosecutors were successful, Madigan would be around 94 years old when eligible for release given that federal convicts must serve 85% of their incarceration time.
    Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2025
  • Roughly 12% were of African descent — newly unshackled, technically free and already being legally recaptured under other names: peonage, vagrancy laws, convict leasing.
    Jack Hill, Baltimore Sun, 17 May 2025
Noun
  • Full goggles: Night vision goggles mix some of the pros and cons of monoculars and binoculars.
    BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 9 June 2025
  • Further research is needed to compare the pros and cons of top-dressing tomato plants with coffee grounds.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 4 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Jailbird.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jailbird. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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