death row

noun

: a prison area housing inmates sentenced to death
usually used with on
prisoners waiting on death row

Examples of death row in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The state has 35 men and one woman on death row, according to its corrections department. Andrew Jeong, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024 An additional 70 people on death row have been moved from the legendary men’s facility in Marin County over the last month, CDCR said. Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 For more than 30 years, Stevenson and his team have provided legal services to people on death row, to date helping overturn more than 140 convictions and sentences. Mark Whitaker, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2024 Woodman joins 111 others on death row facing state execution. Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 29 Feb. 2024 Creech, 73, was convicted of five murders in three states and landed on death row after killing a fellow prisoner in 1981. James Powel, USA TODAY, 29 Feb. 2024 Kentucky Department of Corrections records show 26 inmates are currently sitting on death row, with the most recent of those sentences handed down in 2014. Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 27 Feb. 2024 Jackson served more than thirty-nine years of a murder sentence, with two and a half years on death row, because of the testimony of a thirteen-year-old boy whom the police had coerced. Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 Somebody on death row has more rights than a person put under a guardianship. Brianne Tracy, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'death row.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of death row was in 1894

Dictionary Entries Near death row

Cite this Entry

“Death row.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death%20row. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

death row

noun
: a prison area housing inmates sentenced to death
death row adjective
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!