jail delivery

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noun

a liberation of persons from prison, especially by force.

the act of clearing a jail of prisoners by bringing them to trial, as at the assizes in England.

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Origin of jail delivery

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75

Words nearby jail delivery

Jai Hind, jail, jailbait, jailbird, jailbreak, jail delivery, jailer, jail fever, jailhouse, jailhouse lawyer, Jain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use jail delivery in a sentence

For the most of us there is no jail delivery of those inner depths, and the life above goes on to its honourable end.
The New Machiavelli|Herbert George Wells
If he believed in those resolutions he should at once have made a general jail delivery.
Nullification, Secession Webster's Argument and the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions|Caleb William Loring
“Such a jail-delivery has never been known in New England,” is the testimony handed down.
The Salem witchcraft, The planchette mystery, and Modern spiritualism|Harriet Beecher Stowe
Then his own words to the aviator on that night several days ago, came back to him: “Looks like a jail delivery.”
Mystery Wings|Roy J. Snell

It was opposed vigorously by Wilson, of Massachusetts, who called it a general jail delivery for the benefit of traitors.
The Life of Lyman Trumbull|Horace White

British Dictionary definitions for jail delivery

jail delivery

noun

forcible and illegal liberation of prisoners from jail

English law (formerly) a commission issued to assize judges when they come to a circuit town authorizing them to try all prisoners and release those acquitted

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012