prison
/ˈpɹɪzn̩/noun, verb
prison is spelled P-R-I-S-O-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 63 times per million words in written English, the 1,668th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, prison means “A place or institution where people are held against their will, in the US especially for long-term confinement, as of those convicted of serious…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of prison is prisons.
How many letters and syllables are in prison?
| Letters | 6: P-R-I-S-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 63 times per million words; the 1,668th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is prison?
Prison appears 63 times per million words in written English, the 1,668th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce prison?
- /ˈpɹɪzn̩/
- [pʰɹ̠̊ɪzn̩]
Prison has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-prison.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with prison?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as prison.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: spinor.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of prison
- prisons plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- prisoning participle, present
- prisoned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prison mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A place or institution where people are held against their will, in the US especially for long-term confinement, as of those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government.
The cold stone walls of the prison had stood for over a century.
- 2
Confinement in prison (sense 1).
Prison was a harrowing experience for him.
- 3
colloquialAny restrictive environment, such as a harsh academy or home.
The academy was a prison for many of its students because of its strict teachers.
verb
- 1
To imprison.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prison in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prison, cabane, geôle, pénitencier |
| German | Gefängnis, Knast, Kerker, Zuchthaus , Haft, Gefangenschaft |
| Portuguese | prisão, cadeia, cárcere, xadrez, xilindró |
| Spanish | cárcel, prisión, penitenciaría, chirona, trullo, talego |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does prison come from?
From Middle English prisoun, prison, from Old English prisūn, a borrowing from Old French prison, from Latin prehensiōnem, accusative singular of prehensiō, from the verb prehendō. Doublet of prehension.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).