Inmate
/ˈɪn.meɪt/
nounB2
Definition
An inmate is someone who is kept in a prison or jail because they have been convicted of a crime or are waiting for trial. The word refers only to people living inside these places, not visitors or staff.
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See It in Action
A person confined in a prison or jail
- •The prison has 500 inmates living inside.
- •Inmates must follow strict rules during their stay.
- •The inmate was released after serving five years.
A person living in an institution like a hospital or mental health facility (less common)
- •The hospital inmate received daily care from nurses.
- •In some older texts, inmate can mean a resident in a care home.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "inmate" like "prisoner" (A2 word), but more formal and used especially inside prisons or jails.
- ✓Picture a person behind bars or locked inside a building designed to keep people inside.
- ✓It's the feeling of being confined or restricted, not free to leave.
- ✓Sounds like "in-mate" → imagine a "mate" (friend) who lives inside (in) a special place you cannot leave.
- ✓Think of movies or TV shows where characters live together inside a prison—they are inmates.
- ✓NOT like "visitor" (someone who comes in and leaves), inmates live inside and cannot leave freely.
- ✓NOT like "guard" or "officer" (people who work there), inmates are the people being kept there.
- ✓NOT like "resident" in a house or apartment because inmates are kept there as punishment, not by choice.
Try Other Words
- •Prisoner: a person kept in prison (Use when talking generally about people in prison)
- •Convict: a person found guilty of a crime and serving a sentence (Use when emphasizing guilt and punishment)
- •Resident: a person living in a place (Use only for non-prison contexts like hospitals or care homes)
- •Detainee: a person held temporarily, often by police or military (Use when the person is not yet sentenced)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: "in-" (inside) + "mate" (companion or person) → literally "person inside"
- •Etymology: From Middle English, originally meaning a person sharing a place or room, later used for people inside prisons or institutions
- •Historical development: The meaning shifted from a general resident to a prisoner or confined person in the 19th century
- •Modern usage: Mainly used to describe people living in prisons or jails as prisoners today
Reflect & Connect
•How does the word "inmate" affect the way we think about people in prison compared to words like "prisoner" or "convict"?
•Can the word "inmate" be used in other places besides prisons? How does that change its meaning?
Fill in the blanks
1.An inmate usually cannot leave the prison because they are ___ by law to stay inside.
2.The rules inside the prison require inmates to ___ certain schedules and activities.
3.Unlike a visitor, an inmate lives ___ the prison walls every day.
4.When someone is called an inmate, it means they are ___ in a prison or jail, not just visiting.
5.The difference between an inmate and a guard is that the inmate is ___ in the prison, while the guard works there.
6.In some hospitals, the word inmate can also mean a person who ___ in the facility for treatment.
7.Inmates often have limited freedom and must follow strict ___ inside the prison.