Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Prison \Pris"on\ (?; 277), n. [F., fr. L. prehensio, prensio, a
   seizing, arresting, fr. prehendre, prendere, to lay hold of,
   to seize. See {Prehensile}, and cf. {Prize}, n.,
   {Misprision}.]
   1. A place where persons are confined, or restrained of
      personal liberty; hence, a place or state o? confinement,
      restraint, or safe custody.

            Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy
            name.                                 --Ps. cxlii.
                                                  7.

            The tyrant [AE]olus, . . . With power imperial,
            curbs the struggling winds, And sounding tempests in
            dark prisons binds.                   --Dryden.

   2. Specifically, a building for the safe custody or
      confinement of criminals and others committed by lawful
      authority.

   {Prison bars}, or {Prison base}. See {Base}, n., 24.

   {Prison breach}. (Law) See Note under 3d {Escape}, n., 4.

   {Prison house}, a prison. --Shak.

   {Prison ship} (Naut.), a ship fitted up for the confinement
      of prisoners.

   {Prison van}, a carriage in which prisoners are conveyed to
      and from prison.

Source : WordNet®

prison house
     n 1: a prisonlike situation; a place of seeming confinement [syn:
           {prison}]
     2: a correctional institution where persons are confined while
        on trial or for punishment [syn: {prison}]