jails

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of jail.

   Several county jails were closed after the budget cuts.

   Conditions in the older jails fell well below the new state standards.

   Note

   Only the countable meanings of jail take a plural: the buildings themselves, or the area where struck players wait in dodgeball. Jail as confinement (to go to jail, a year in jail) stays uncountable, so 'sentenced to jails' is wrong. In US usage the plural usually names places that hold people for minor offenses or until a court proceeding.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of jail.

   The judge jails repeat offenders without hesitation.

   Whenever the regime jails a journalist, international protests follow.

   Note

   A verb form spelled exactly like the plural noun, so position tells them apart. After a singular subject it is the verb (the judge jails offenders). After a number, article or adjective it is the noun (two county jails). The verb means simply 'imprison', and it nearly always takes a direct object naming the person confined.

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