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# prisoner

«prisoner» in Mova's school dictionary: **kept in prison as a punishment for a crime** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a prisoner, prisoners)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A person who is kept in prison as a punishment for a crime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prisoner/#m1)

2) A person who is caught and kept somewhere and is not allowed to leave (a prisoner of war). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prisoner/#m2)

3) Someone who feels trapped by something (a prisoner of fear). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prisoner/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

Used in history (prisoners of war, castles and dungeons), stories and news about crime. Tells the reader someone has lost their freedom. Phrases: «take someone prisoner», «hold prisoner», «prisoner of war», «escaped prisoner».

### examples

- The prisoner was locked in a cell. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prisoner/#x1)
- The knight was taken prisoner. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prisoner/#x2)
- Two prisoners escaped from the jail. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prisoner/#x3)
- The pirates held the captain prisoner on their ship. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prisoner/#x4)
- Prisoners of war were sent home at the end of the war. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prisoner/#x5)
- She felt like a prisoner in her own house during the storm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prisoner/#x6)

### note

Countable. Related words: «prison» (the building), «jail» (US «jail», UK also «gaol» — old spelling), «imprison». A «prisoner» is not always a criminal: prisoners of war are soldiers who were captured.

### In the corpora

- [The old gaoler's rusty key creaks, the door clangs — and Toad is a helpless prisoner.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/13/)
- ["Extraordinary rendition" means secretly moving a prisoner to another country for interrogation, long hard questioning (US).](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/25-spin-war-and-violence/21/)
- ["Detainee" means a prisoner, often held without trial (never judged in a court).](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/25-spin-war-and-violence/23/)
- ["Guest of His Majesty" is a British joke for a prisoner.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/27-crime-prison-and-police/8/)
- ["Protective custody" means keeping a prisoner alone for their own safety.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/27-crime-prison-and-police/17/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «prisoner» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prisoner/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.