hoosegow

noun

ˈhüs-ˌgau̇ How to pronounce hoosegow (audio)
Definition of hoosegownext
as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody they ended up in the hoosegow for disorderly conduct

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of hoosegow Every day at the high security hoosegow holds the possibility of turmoil and violence. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2025 Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park Carved from granite cliffs overlooking the Colorado River, Yuma Prison was the Old West’s most notorious hoosegow, garnering a fearsome reputation. — Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2025 In prison, there are Keene’s encounters with a real-life mob boss and a manipulative guard to add tension, and just enough mayhem to remind you that this is no ordinary hoosegow. — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2022 Most famously, in 1968 Johnny Cash serenaded state inmates at the max-security Folsom Prison in California, later turning the hoosegow act into a live album titled At Folsom Prison. — Keri Blakinger, Houston Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2019 Carved from a granite cliff overlooking the Colorado River, this was America’s most notorious 19th century hoosegow. — Roger Naylor, azcentral, 4 Oct. 2019 And Blankenship has charged that Manchin, who was governor at the time of the mine explosion, conspired with Barack Obama (not a popular figure in West Virginia) to send him to the hoosegow. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 20 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoosegow
  1. jail
  2. prison
  3. penitentiary
Noun
  • He was given an option to bypass jail by paying a $250 fine and providing the filings within a week.
    — Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Castro was released from a Texas jail last week after a judge declined to order his return to Minnesota.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of jail
Noun
  • The jury did convict Rosado of driving under the influence and he was sentenced to five years in prison, but Rosado has been behind bars on a $2 million bail since 2021 so won't have to serve any additional time.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Over the course of Exile, one of Loktev’s subjects is poisoned; another receives a five-year prison sentence in absentia.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of prison
Noun
  • Beginning in 1908, after federal prisons opened in Atlanta, Georgia, and Leavenworth, Kansas, most federal prisoners were sent to these new federal prisons, and cells began to empty at the West Virginia state penitentiary.
    — Ella Siegrist, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Recent spike in inmate deaths at the penitentiary In fiscal year 2025 – July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025 – the DOC reported 19 deaths within its annual report, the most in a decade.
    — TJ Rhodes, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of penitentiary

Browse Nearby Words

hooray
hoosegow
hoosegows
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Cite this Entry

“Hoosegow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoosegow. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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