prison term
19
4.2
- noun
- /ˈprɪzən tɜrm/
:
pena de prisión
- Violation carries a prison term of up to five years, but this does not deter many people.
- a long prison term
- a short prison term
- face a prison term
And I want to know how many prison terms have you served?
- And I want to know how many prison terms have you served?
- Like even, I mean, through the cancellation, through the sentencing to the prison term.
Examples
-
The judge sentenced him to a prison term of five years for his role in the fraud.
-
Some were given long prison terms, and others were handed death sentences.
Academic text (1993) -
And orders him to serve a prison term of... 18 months.
-
If he does, he'll be looking out the back of an FBI van on his way to a long prison term.
-
These police officers will face stiff prison terms, say federal prosecutors, if found guilty.
-
The law provides for criminal fines and lengthy prison terms.
Academic text (1993) -
Groups of officers received long prison terms for embezzling funds from an Air Force academy.
Academic text (1997) -
At this preliminary trial, though, the defendants were sentenced to prison terms, not death.
Academic text (1991) -
So too are ex-felons who have served their prison terms but are still on parole.
Blog text (19) -
A five-year prison term creates in Youthman a desire to change conditions at the settlement.
Academic text (1995)
Synonyms
∞
9.1
A period spent in prison as punishment
659
7.0
Punishment a court gives to someone found guilty, often prison time
88
4.0
Being kept in prison as a punishment by law
85
8.0
Being kept in prison as punishment
How Long
76
5.7
19
4.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'period of time someone is required to spend in prison' is directly derivable from combining 'prison' (place of confinement) with 'term' (a set period). This compositional noun–noun pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English compounding, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Prison term comes from putting together prison (a place where people are punished) and term (a set period of time). That's why it means 'the time someone must spend in prison'.