as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
fittingly, the calaboose in that one-horse town consisted of a single cell
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Recent Examples of calaboose
Heritage Village includes an 1881 two-cell calaboose from Mokena, the 1856 Wells Corner one-room schoolhouse from Homer Glen, the 1863 Greenho farmhouse from Crest Hill, the 1881 Wabash railroad depot from Symerton and a Lockport smokehouse.
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Jessi Virtusio, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2022
Lachenais was arrested and secured in the local calaboose, but a vigilance committee descended upon the jail and tore Lachenais out of his cell.
—Yxta Maya Murray, Longreads, 19 Aug. 2020
All Chenneville had to do was ride up on his horse, remove the smoking gun or bloody knife from the killer's hand, and drag him to the calaboose—the local jail, which was just down the hall from the police department.
—Skip Hollandsworth, Esquire, 5 Apr. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calaboose
Noun
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According to online jail records, his bail was set at $250,000.—
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The cost of Kansas City’s temporary jail facility could jump by nearly $4 million as a city committee recommend additional funding and waiving environmental building standards to keep the project on track for completion before the 2026 FIFA World Cup.—
Noun
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But he was most likely transferred there to help publicize the new penitentiary, nicknamed The Rock.—
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James was on his way to pick up an immigrant in the federal penitentiary who had finished a criminal sentence.—
Noun
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The Department of Justice said Steven Anthony Cowles, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.—
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The two counts of second-degree assault could carry up to seven years in prison each, if convicted.—
Cite this Entry
“Calaboose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calaboose. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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