behind bars

VERB

serving jail time

Synonyms

WEAK

confined imprisoned in jail in prison incarcerated jailed put away serving time under lock and key

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The judge explained Bennett would serve at least two-thirds of his 30-year sentence behind bars.

From BBC

"We have a history of brilliant law enforcement cooperation to put the criminal smuggling gangs where they belong – behind bars," he said.

From BBC

Fifteen of its mayors are now behind bars.

From Barron's

For others, it is a catastrophic failure by the Prison Service as he should be spending the full sentence - life with a minimum term of 40 years - behind bars.

From BBC

A second was sentenced to 15 months behind bars and barred from practicing for six years.

From Barron's