🖊️ A writing tool 🐖 An animal enclosure 🚔 A prison ✍️ To write 👶 A play enclosure 🦢 A female swan

pen

38 9.4

An informal word for prison where people serve time

noun
/pɛn/

Slang

: cárcel

How old were you when you went to the pen?

And then they, when you're in the, when you're in the bag in the pen, you're in stress positions being subject to white noise.

Examples

Sentenced to 18 months in the state pen at Rawlins, Wyoming for armed robbery.

Fiction book (2000)
Their sidekick on the second bust, Tony Morino... is doing 10 years at the federal pen.

End Game (2006)
Because he went to the pen before he could.

Welcome to Collinwood (2002)
Back in the pen you go.

Blind Date (1987)
I just came home from the pen, bro.

Repentance (2014)
My father, who did time in the pen six times, died of bad homemade booze.

Fiction book (1998)
You're looking at a man that just got out of the pen.

Shoot Out (1971)
And he's headed for the federal pen where he will be spending a very long time-- if nothing happens to him.

Assassins' Code (2011)
His father was sentenced to a nickel in the federal pen for violating his probation.

Fiction book (1997)
After serving his sentence, he finally walked out of the pen and into freedom.

Synonyms

penitentiary

vspen

72 7.9

A prison for people found guilty of serious crimes

is the informal term used instead of a more formal one

Idioms

to dip one's pen in someone else's inkwell

Archaic

9.9

To use someone else's ideas without giving them credit

Compounds

pen pal

23 2.9

A person in another country you write letters to and become friends with

pen name

10 3.5

A name an author uses instead of their real name when publishing

fountain pen

10 3.1

A pen with a built-in ink holder that lets ink flow to the tip

ballpoint pen

8 1.0

A writing pen with a small metal ball in the tip that rolls ink onto paper

holding pen

4 3.1

A small fenced area where farmers keep animals before moving them

veto pen

3 7.5

A pen a president or governor uses to officially reject a law

pen-and-ink

2 5.5

A drawing made with pen and ink that shows lines and shading without color

quill pen

Archaic

2 8.1

A writing tool made from a bird's feather that you dip in ink to write

felt-tip pen

1 2.1

A pen with a soft felt tip for writing or drawing

felt-tipped pen

1 3.0

A tool for writing or drawing with a soft tip that makes bold lines

cattle pen

1 2.1

An enclosure for keeping cattle like cows and bulls

sheep pen

1 1.2

A fenced area where a farmer keeps sheep

light pen

Archaic

1 5.6

A handheld tool that you use on a computer screen to point or draw

pen-pusher

Offensive

1 7.9

A person who does simple office paperwork and little creative work

poison-pen letter

NSFW

1 8.5

An anonymous letter that says cruel things to hurt someone

cow pen

1 1.6

A fenced area where farmers keep cows

pen nib

1 4.1

The small pointed metal tip of a pen that puts ink on paper

sea pen

Specialized

1 9.8

A marine animal like a feather made of many tiny animals on the sea floor

poison pen letter

1 7.6

An unsigned angry letter written to hurt or insult someone

slip of the pen

Informal

1 3.8

A small mistake made when writing by accident

catch pen

Specialized

1 6.3

A small fenced area that holds animals like sheep or cattle for a short time

pen mouse

1 5.7

A small wireless tool shaped like a pen that moves the computer pointer for drawing and precise work

pen-friend

1 3.2

A person you write to and know only by letters, often never meeting

catching pen

Jargon

5.5

A small fenced area for holding animals briefly to sort or check them

fineliner pen

3.8

A pen with a very thin felt tip that draws precise lines for writing or drawing

knight of the pen

Archaic

9.9

A respected writer known for great books or articles

pen-tailed tree shrew

9.9

A small brown mammal from Malaysia with a bare tail and long stiff hairs at the tip

pen-tail

9.9

A small brown tree shrew from Malaysia with a bare tail fringed by stiff hairs at the tip

How Secure

supermax

Specialized

4 7.9

prison

∞ 1.0

pen

Slang

38 9.4

jail

418 1.0

holding cell

39 4.1

Surface Forms

pen singular

pens plural

Etymology

Pen as slang for prison comes from the longer word penitentiary and from the idea of an enclosure that keeps people inside. That's why 'the pen' means a place where prisoners are held.