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verb

incarcerate

in-KAR-suh-rayt/ɪnˈkɑːrsəreɪt/

To confine someone in prison or jail.

A corrections officer incarcerates a prisoner behind a locked cell door.

A corrections officer closes and locks a barred prison-cell door with a newly confined adult standing inside.
Etymology
inLatinin, into
+carcerLatinprison, enclosed space
+ateLatinpast-participle ending

The pieces give the concrete image of putting someone into a prison or enclosed space. This directly underlies legal confinement; the deeper origin of carcer is uncertain.

In context

PBS NewsHour8:28
we incarcerate too many people, we're going to fix that by just giving the key to the criminals and say, hey, just get out of jail.
How 'the incarceration capital of America' embraced criminal justice reform

More examples

  • The judge decides not to incarcerate the first-time offender.
  • He was incarcerated for three years after the robbery.
  • The state spends millions incarcerating people convicted of crimes.

Forms

incarcerate · incarcerates · incarcerated · incarcerating

incarceration noun — The act or state of confinement in prison.

Similar words

imprison
The closest synonym; less formal and also used figuratively.
jail
Often emphasizes confinement in a local or short-term facility.