PRISONER

[noun] [C]A prisoner is a person who is kept in prison as a punishment.Prisoners climbed onto the prison roof to protest at the awful conditions inside the prison.Civil rights groups are demanding the release of all political prisoners (= people who are kept in prison because their political beliefs are different from those of the government).If someone is a prisoner of a situation, their possible choices of action and the ways in which they can improve the situation are very limited.The Minister for Trade and Industry is just as much a prisoner of the situation as the union leaders.If someone is taken prisoner, they are caught by enemy forces.Of 10 000 troops, 7000 were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.If someone is held/kept prisoner, they are caught and guarded so that they cannot escape.The pilot and several passengers were held prisoner by the gunmen for 57 hours.A prisoner of conscience is someone kept in prison because their political or religious beliefs are different from those of the government.A prisoner of war ( POW) is a member of the armed forces who has been caught by enemy forces during a war.