30+ Slang for Prison (Their Uses & Meanings)

What does Prison Mean?

A prison is a secure facility designed for the confinement and punishment of individuals who have been convicted of crimes, limiting their freedom and movement within its walls. It serves as a means of deterring criminal behavior, protecting society, and facilitating rehabilitation or retribution.

Slang For Prison

Slang Words for Prison

Here is the list of slang words for Prison with meanings:

  1. Clink: An old term for jail or prison.
  2. Pen: Short for penitentiary, a high-security prison.
  3. Slammer: A casual term for jail or prison.
  4. Big house: Refers to a large prison facility.
  5. Jug: An old-fashioned term for jail.
  6. Hoosgow: Jail, often used in Western contexts.
  7. Pokey: Another informal word for jail.
  8. Calaboose: A local jail, especially a small one.
  9. Cooler: A place where one is locked up.
  10. Skookum house: Native American slang for jail.
  11. Bing: Solitary confinement or prison.
  12. Brick: Refers to the walls of a prison cell.
  13. Up the river: Refers to being sent to prison.
  14. Lockup: A short-term holding facility.
  15. Can: Another informal term for jail.
  16. Joint: Casual term for prison.
  17. Cage: A place where one is confined.
  18. Concrete hotel: Describes the cold, hard confines of a prison.
  19. Stir: Old term for prison or jail.
  20. Greybar Hotel: A euphemistic term for jail, referencing the bars.

Use of Prison Slang in Example Sentences

Below are example sentences using the slang term of Prison:

  1. He spent a night in the clink for drunkenness.
  2. She’s serving time in the state pen.
  3. Tommy got thrown in the slammer
  4. The state’s maximum security is the big house.
  5. He ended up in the local jug for brawling.
  6. The cowboy landed in the hoosgow after the saloon fight.
  7. They caught him and tossed him in the pokey.
  8. That town’s calaboose is just a two-room cell.
  9. After the fight, they cooled him off in the cooler.
  10. He didn’t expect to find himself in the skookum house.
  11. After causing trouble, he was sent to the bing.
  12. His days are now confined to four brick
  13. After the trial, they said he’s going up the river.
  14. The suspect was held overnight in lockup.
  15. He got three months in the can for theft.
  16. Life in the joint changed him.
  17. They kept the wild animal in a strong cage.
  18. To him, prison felt like a concrete hotel.
  19. Old-timers often referred to it as the stir.
  20. He’s spending his nights at the greybar hotel.

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