hoosegows

noun

plural of hoosegow
as in jails
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody they ended up in the hoosegow for disorderly conduct

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoosegows
  1. jails
  2. prisons
  3. penitentiaries
  4. big houses
Noun
  • When women tried to march for their rights, they were violently suppressed, and by 2023, nearly all those in Afghan jails were political prisoners, and many were tortured.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Filling empty beds The national incarceration rate – which includes both jails, for short-term detention, and prisons, for sentences of more than a year – has more or less crept downward since 2010.
    — Ella Siegrist, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of jails
Noun
  • Burnham also faces pressure over Britain’s overcrowded prisons.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Death by medical neglect in Belarusian prisons is well documented.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of prisons
Noun
  • Hodge says he was abused in multiple federal penitentiaries, but was frequently blocked from filing complaints about it.
    — Christie Thompson, NPR, 13 July 2026
  • This includes providing the Colombian military more leeway in the field, signing a new security agreement with Washington and building 10 mega-prisons that mimic Bukele’s network of penitentiaries in El Salvador.
    — Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2026
Definition of penitentiaries
Noun
  • Boomers stayed in the workforce longer than expected, retired later, and held on to big houses as starter homes disappeared beneath them.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 June 2026
  • However, a lot of big houses have been built on smallish lots.
    — Richard Dahlberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
Definition of big houses
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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hoosegow
hoosegows
hoot
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Cite this Entry

“Hoosegows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoosegows. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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