jail: meaning and words from its letters
4 letters · 11 letter points · starts with J · ends with L
Meaning of jail
noun
- countable, uncountable
A place or institution for the confinement of persons held against their will in lawful custody or detention, especially (in US usage) a place where people are held for minor offenses or with reference to some future judicial proceeding.
Example: serve time in jail
- uncountable
Confinement in a jail.
- uncountable
The condition created by the requirement that a horse claimed in a claiming race not be run at another track for some period of time (usually 30 days).
- countable, uncountable
In dodgeball and related games, the area where players who have been struck by the ball are confined.
Listed forms: jails, gaol.
Source: Wiktionary — jail.
verb
- transitive
To imprison, incarcerate, enjail.
Listed forms: jails, jailing, jailed, gaol.
Source: Wiktionary — jail.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org. Selected senses and forms; quotations omitted. Definition text is CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms by meaning
Words are grouped by sense, so they are not necessarily interchangeable in every context. Search synonyms for jail.
noun
a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)
verb
lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
Open English WordNet Team, 2025, derived from Princeton University WordNet; selected synonym groups under CC BY 4.0. Source · OEWN notice · Princeton notice.
Is jail in our word lists?
| Word list | Status |
|---|---|
| American English | Found |
| British English | Found |
| Extended English | Found |
These are spelling-list matches, not official game validity checks. Check the rules and dictionary used by your game.
Letter-value score of jail
J(8) + A(1) + I(1) + L(1) = 11 points.
This is a sum of letter values without board bonuses or word multipliers. A blank tile is worth zero: subtract the value of each letter supplied by a blank. The score does not establish game validity. Full letter-value table.
Anagrams of jail
0 other standard-list words use exactly these letters, including repeated letters.
No other single-word anagram was found in our standard list.
Shorter words from jail
7 shorter standard-list words can be made using no letter more often than it occurs in jail. Showing up to 24, longest first.