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Glite Dictionary
🏢 A top-security prison 🛡️ Extremely secure
supermax

supermax

8.2
Used to describe prisons with very high security
  • adjective
  • /ˈsuːpərˌmæks/
  • Specialized
translation icon : de máxima seguridad
  • Prisoners in a supermax unit are kept in their cells for most of the day.

Examples

  • The new supermax facility was designed to house the most dangerous inmates in the country.

  • The government announced plans to build a supermax wing to improve prison security.

  • The supermax facility was built to prevent any escape.

  • Many inmates are transferred to a supermax prison after serious offenses.

  • The new supermax facility was designed to house the most dangerous inmates in the country.

  • Prisoners in a supermax unit are kept in their cells for most of the day.

  • The government announced plans to build a supermax wing to improve prison security.

How Secure

supermax
  • Specialized
8.2

Surface Forms

supermax positive

Morphology

supermax = super + max (transparent) = super + max

Clearly built from 'super' + 'max' (short for 'maximum'), so a learner knowing those parts can infer 'extremely high/maximum security'.

Etymology

Supermax comes from putting together super ('very' or 'above') and max ('maximum' or 'the most'). So supermax as an adjective describes something with the highest level of security, like a very strict prison unit.