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Answer for the clue "American prison ", 12 letters:
penitentiary

Alternative clues for the word penitentiary

Word definitions for penitentiary in dictionaries

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
early 15c., "place of punishment for offenses against the church," from Medieval Latin penitentiaria , from fem. of penitentiarius (adj.) "of penance," from Latin paenitentia "penitence" (see penitence ). Meaning "house of correction" (originally an asylum ...

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Word definitions in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
noun COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS ■ ADJECTIVE federal ▪ Officials said the devices appear similar to two additional bombs that arrived Thursday at a federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan. ▪ Tom Martell sits in the federal penitentiary at Las Vegas, a prisoner ...

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Penitentiary \Pen`i*ten"tia*ry\, a. [Cf. F. p['e]nitentiaire.] Relating to penance, or to the rules and measures of penance. ``A penitentiary tax.'' --Abp. Bramhall. Expressive of penitence; as, a penitentiary letter. Used for punishment, ...

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
adj. used for punishment or reform of criminals or wrongdoers; "penitentiary institutions" n. a correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes [syn: pen ]

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
Penitentiary is a 1979 American blaxploitation drama film starring Leon Isaac Kennedy as Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone that deals with the wrongful imprisonment of a black youth. The film was released on November 21, 1979.

Usage examples of penitentiary.

The penitentiary had a reputation as being a place of which to steer clear--the kind of a reputation a penitentiary should have--in spite of the fact that it was modern, and had a warden who was perfectly fair to every inmate.

He could not, no matter how much he thought about it, understand how he had become another man serving a life sentence in a penitentiary, and the desperation of that situation might have broken his will.

Tom Idle had explained to his sister exactly what had happened to him, beginning when he was awakened by the exclamation of a bum known as Seedy Smith, in a Salt Lake City park, and ending where he was now, sitting in the Utah penitentiary with the name of Hondo Weatherbee, outlaw.

Utah State Penitentiary and look into the mystery of how a man named Tom Idle could turn into an outlaw named Hondo Weatherbee.

Bolt lightning suddenly came down out of the sky, touched one horn tower with a sizzle and a bang, and in the penitentiary cells a hundred convicts lay rigid while fear chills walked their spines.

There were clever prisoners in this penitentiary, and the devices they tried were strange.

Hondo Weatherbee had been taken out of the penitentiary and Tom Idle substituted in his place, Tom Idle being selected simply because he looked something like Hondo Weatherbee.

Big Eva was also slated for release from the penitentiary, since he had once been a bandit associate of Hondo Weatherbee, Doc had disguised himself to resemble Big Eva and offered himself as a sacrifice to see if he was guessing right.

All the doors in this part of the penitentiary were sheathed with steel and equipped to be locked from either side.

Now that you are out of the penitentiary, he has more need than ever for a club to hold over you.

How did they get you and me into the penitentiary, and get Big Eva and Hondo Weatherbee out?

The scheme to leave a stooge in your place in the penitentiary has flopped.

He naturally associated the presence of Tom Idle with the nearness of Doc Savage, because the two had escaped the penitentiary together, and he was suddenly frantic with anxiety.

Moonlight was the only privilege that these prisoners could share with free men in the world beyond the penitentiary walls.

When the doors of the penitentiary clanged behind him he would depart, carrying with him the secret of Ferris Legrand!