Standard Lemma guide

calaboose

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌkæləˈbuːs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A prison or jail/gaol.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, US, dialectal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: big house, borstal, bridewell, brig, calaboose, can, chokey, choky, clink, correctional facility, correctional institution, crowbar hotel, detention centre, dungeon, gaol, glasshouse, graybar hotel, guardhouse, gulag, hock, hole, honor farm, hoosegow, house of detention, iron house, jail, jailhouse, joint, jug, juvenile hall, juvie, lockup, nigger university, nick, pen, penal colony, penitentiary, pokey, porridge, prison, prison camp, prison farm, prison hulk, prison ship, queer ken, remand center, roundhouse, slammer, slam, stalag, stir, stockade, tronk, up the river, workhouse, Alcatraz, Attica, Bastille, Dartmoor, Devil's Island, Folsom, Hanoi Hilton, Leavenworth, Lefortovo, Maze, Pelican Bay, San Quentin, Sing Sing, Tower

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Cajun French calabousse, from Spanish calabozo. Doublet of calabozo.