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Glite Dictionary
🏛️ A prison 🚔 To imprison
gaol

gaol

2 8.9
A building that holds people as punishment for a crime
  • noun
  • /dʒeɪl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : cárcel
  • During the 1650s, more than 25 people were sent to Launceston Gaol in Cornwall after a woman was accused by her neighbors of being a witch.
  • Reading gaol
  • Auckland gaol

As you know, my dad is in gaol for child sex crimes.

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Examples

  • I don't care about going to gaol.

    A Thousand Acres (1997)

  • He's worried about his servant being in gaol, and that makes him overzealous in trying to solve the murder.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I would rather be in gaol than do that.

    Anything Goes With James English

  • Is there any part of gaol that you miss?

    Liam Tuffs

  • Oh, I think I'd rather be in gaol, to be honest.

  • I got caught at the airport, I got sentenced, I went to gaol and I did my sentence.

    Anything Goes With James English

  • You may then spend the next 14 days in gaol, in quiet contemplation of your crimes.

    Peterloo (2018)

  • There was a proper gaol in Maidstone.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Dipper may be out of gaol, but he'll remain under suspicion as long as the real murderer is unknown.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • After his trial, he was sentenced to spend five years in gaol for the crime.

Synonyms

prison
vsgaol
∞ 1.0

A building where people are kept as punishment or while waiting for trial

is the same idea but expressed with a different common label
jail
vsgaol
∞ 1.0

A building where people are kept as punishment or while waiting for their trial

is the same meaning but differs only in form or label
jailhouse
vsgaol
42 4.1

A building where police keep people who are waiting for trial or serving a sentence

is the same concept but uses a compound term highlighting the building
slammer
vsgaol
  • Slang
32 9.8

A prison or jail where people are kept after arrest

is the standard term rather than a slang expression
pokey
vsgaol
  • Slang
19 9.9

A small jail where people wait for trial or serve short sentences

is the general detention place not limited by size or sentence length
clink
vsgaol
  • Informal
6 8.6

A prison or jail where people are kept by the police

is the neutral legal term rather than an informal label
poky
vsgaol
  • Slang
1 9.9

A small, dirty local jail

is a neutral term without implied small size or poor condition

Antonyms

freedom
∞ 1.0

The right to act, speak, or think as you want without being stopped

How Secure

supermax
  • Specialized
12 7.9
penitentiary
  • US
1 8.2
prison
∞ 1.0
gaol
  • Archaic
2 8.9
holding cell
33 4.1

Surface Forms

gaol singular
gaols plural
jails plural
jail singular

Etymology

Gaol comes from an old French word gaiole, which meant 'small cage'. So, like the English word cage, gaol is a place where people are kept as punishment or while they wait for trial.