imprisonment

UK/ɪmˈpɹɪzn̩.mənt/

nounC1Common in everyday speech and writing · #6,255 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: imprisonments

Imprisonment is being shut up in prison. Life imprisonment, false imprisonment, sentenced to imprisonment.

False imprisonment is a civil wrong as well as a crime, and it covers being held anywhere against your will, not only in a cell. Life imprisonment rarely means life: most systems set a minimum term after which release may be considered.

Definitions of imprisonment

1nounimprisonmentBeing shut up in prison.C1
“He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for robbery.”

imprisonment is a punishment.

Where it comes from

Old French emprisonnement comes from emprisonner, to put in prison, from Latin prehendere, to seize. Prison and apprehend share the seizing.

Old French
emprisonnement
Anglo-Norman
emprisonement
English, today
imprisonment

From Anglo-Norman emprisonement, from Old French emprisonnement. See imprison + -ment.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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imprisonment in the wild

Crimes that are punishable by life imprisonment are considered extremely serious and usually violent.
Life imprisonment
Actual physical restraint is not necessary for false imprisonment to occur.
False imprisonment
For detention by the police, proof of false imprisonment provides a basis to obtain a writ of habeas corpus.
False imprisonment
Many U.S. states offer parole after a decade or more has passed, but in California, people sentenced to life imprisonment can normally apply for parole after seven years.
Life imprisonment in the United States
In 1988, he was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to death, but his sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment.
Harrison Graham

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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