# prisoner

Pronunciation: US say "PRIZ-uh-nur" /ˈpɹɪzənɚ/; UK say "PRIZ-uh-nuh" /ˈpɹɪzənə/

## Noun

1. A person held in a prison, whether awaiting trial or serving a sentence.
   - Simple: Someone kept in a prison, either waiting for a trial or as punishment for a crime.
   - _The prisoner met with her lawyer the day before the hearing._
   - _Several prisoners earned college degrees through the facility's education program._
2. Anyone who is being held captive against their will.
   - Simple: Someone who is held by another person or group and cannot leave.
   - _Rebels took dozens of villagers prisoner during the raid on the border town._
   - _He remained a prisoner in the basement until police found him two weeks later._
3. Someone whose situation or circumstances hold them captive, or make them feel that way.
   - Simple: Someone who feels stuck in a situation that they cannot change or escape.
   - _Years of mounting debt left her a prisoner of her own financial choices._
   - _Critics described the CEO as a prisoner of the company's outdated traditions._

## Origin

From Middle English prisoner, from Old French prisonier (compare Medieval Latin prisōnārius), equivalent to prison plus the suffix -er.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/prisoner (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).