Skip to main content
to gaol

to gaol

9.9
To put someone in prison as punishment
  • verb
  • /ɡeɪl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : encarcelar
  • The closest they got was to jail Matthew Martoma for nine years.

Examples

  • The authorities decided to gaol the activist for his controversial views.

  • In 1970, the Establishment determined to punish the ideas of the 1960s by gaoling the long-haired editors of Oz magazine, charged not only with obscenity but with 'conspiracy to corrupt public morals.'

    Academic text (2010)
  • They want to target and jail their critics.

  • They want to target and jail their critics.

  • Just they have to put her in jail to get her out of society 'cause she's just so, so noobie and everything.

  • As I was saying, we've got to jail all The Dirty hippies.

  • He looked at me with red face and said, I'm putting this mother in jail and you're not going to stop me.

  • He dared to come back to Russia and he was apprehended and put to jail right in the airport when he boarded off the plane.

  • Of course, it could be because the rate at which men of color are gaoled requires masculinity to be decentred as the sole location of analysis.

    Blog text (19)
  • After the trial, the judge chose to gaol the defendant for his repeated offenses.

Synonyms

to imprison
vsto gaol
  • Formal
178 4.2

Put someone in prison as a punishment or keep them locked up

is a general term for confining someone without stressing punishment
to put away
vsto gaol
115 5.8

To lock someone in prison or a secure place

describes the act itself without implying length of custody
to jail
vsto gaol
108 2.1

To put someone in prison as punishment

is the same action but written in an older form
to put behind bars
vsto gaol
26 4.3

Send a person to prison as punishment

is the neutral term for placing someone into confinement
to remand
vsto gaol
  • Jargon
25 8.5

To put someone back in custody until their next hearing

is the broader idea of placing someone into confinement generally
to incarcerate
vsto gaol
  • Formal
18 8.4

To put someone in prison and keep them there

is the general act of placing someone under confinement
to immure
vsto gaol
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To lock someone inside a room or building against their will

focuses on legal or official confinement rather than literal enclosure
to jug
vsto gaol
  • Archaic
9.9

To put someone in jail

is the standard neutral expression rather than slang
to lag
vsto gaol
  • Archaic
9.9

To put someone in jail

is the modern standard word for confining someone

Antonyms

279 1.8

An act of letting someone or something go free from being held

How Confined

to incarcerate
  • Formal
18 8.4
to imprison
  • Formal
178 4.2
to gaol
  • Archaic
9.9
to detain
  • Formal
169 5.9

Surface Forms

gaol infinitive
jail infinitive
gaoling present participle
jailing present participle
gaols third person singular
jails third person singular
gaoled past
jailed past
gaoled past participle
jailed past participle

Etymology

Gaol as a verb comes from the same old French word gaiole meaning 'small cage', so to gaol someone is to put them in a cage, in other words to lock them up in prison.