Definition

Phrasal Verb: - To imprison; to incarcerate: To confine someone in a jail or prison as a form of legal punishment or while awaiting trial.

Usage

This phrasal verb is transitive and separable. It is used to describe the official act of sending someone to prison. It is often used in news reports, legal contexts, and informal speech. - The object (the person being imprisoned) can come after the phrasal verb or between "put" and "behind bars." - It carries a connotation of finality and justice being served.

Examples

• The judge put the dangerous criminal behind bars for twenty years.
• After a long investigation, the corrupt official was finally put behind bars.
• They put him behind bars where he can no longer harm the public.

Advanced Usage

• Used in passive voice: Very commonly used in the passive voice ("was put behind bars," "have been put behind bars") to focus on the person imprisoned rather than the authority doing the imprisoning.
  • The gang leader has been put behind bars for life.
• Figurative use: Can be used hyperbolically or figuratively to describe any situation of strict confinement or severe restriction, though the literal meaning is primary.
  • With this new project deadline, I feel like I've been put behind bars at my desk.

Variants and Related Words

• Lock up (phrasal verb): A more informal synonym for imprison.
  • They need to lock up that thief.
• Incarcerate (verb): A more formal synonym.
• Imprison (verb): A standard synonym.
• Behind bars (prepositional phrase): The state of being in prison.
  • He spent ten years behind bars.

Synonyms

• Imprison
• Incarcerate
• Lock up
• Jail
• Confine

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Put away: (Informal) To send someone to prison.
  • The evidence was enough to put him away for a long time.
• Lock away: To imprison someone, often for a very long time or in a secure facility.
  • He was locked away in a maximum-security prison.

Related Idioms

• Behind bars: In prison.
  • He's going to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
• Throw the book at someone: To punish someone as severely as possible, often by giving them the maximum prison sentence.
  • The prosecutor vowed to throw the book at the repeat offender.

Verb

1. lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
   • The suspects were imprisoned without trial
   • the murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life