variants or less commonly cell mate
plural cellmates also cell mates
: a person who shares a prison cell with another prisoner
When his cellmates learned that his bond had been set at $1 million (and bail at $500,000), they broke into laughter and shook their heads in disbelief.—Richard Behar
Within a week, guards came by at night and told me to get ready. … I said goodbye to my cellmates and gathered my things …—Clare Morgana Gillis

Examples of cellmate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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James Robertson, 63, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and waived all appeals in the 2008 strangling of Frank Hart while the men were cellmates at Charlotte Correctional Institution, north of Fort Myers. — David Fischer, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 Robertson, 63, killed his cellmate Frank Hart in 2008 and was sentenced to death. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026 In an excerpt from his new memoir, the journalist Evan Gershkovich writes about the cellmate who taught him the codes of Russian prison. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026 At the time, Osborn said that Kelly's cellmate, a suspect in the killing, should not have been sharing a cell with anyone. — Paul Egan, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cellmate

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cellmate was in 1839

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Cite this Entry

“Cellmate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cellmate. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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