prison

Universal Words noun 1 [C,U] a building where people are kept as a punishment for a crime they have committed, or while they are waiting for trial: He was sent to prison for five years. * She is in prison, awaiting trial. * to be released from prison * a maximum-security prison * the prison population (= the total number of prisoners in a country) * the problem of overcrowding in prisons * Ten prison officers and three inmates needed hospital treatment following the riot. -< SCHOOL 2 [U] the system of keeping people in prisons: the prison service / system * The government insists that 'prison works' and plans to introduce a tougher sentencing policy for people convicted of violent crime. 3 [C] a place or situation from which sb cannot escape: His hospital room had become a prison.