Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

inmate

/ˈɪn.meɪt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.54 in modern English

Syllables: in-mate
IPA: /ˈɪn.meɪt/

8

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person confined to an institution such as a prison (as a convict) or hospital (as a patient).

noun

A person who shares a residence (such as a hotel guest, a lodger, or a student living on campus), or other place.

noun

Synonym of passenger, a person held or riding within a vehicle.

Example Sentences

"I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts. Not ignoring what is good, I am quick to perceive a horror, and could still be social with it—would they let me—since it is but well to be on friendly terms with all the inmates of the place one lodges in."
"[T]he inmates of the coach, by numerous hard, painful joltings, and ponderous, dragging trundlings, are suddenly made sensible of some great change in the character of the road."
"P. della Valle writes in the same strain: "And these two, the palankins and the andors [a kind of doli] also differ from one another, for in the andor the cane which sustains it is, as it is in the reti, straight; whereas in the palankin, for the greater convenience of the inmate, and to give more room for raising his head, the cane is arched upwards like this, _∩_...""

Etymology

From inn + -mate, or from in- + -mate.

Word Breakdown

Prefix: in
Suffix: inn, mate

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɪn.meɪt/
British English: /ˈɪn.meɪt/

Inflected Forms

inmates (plural)

Derived Forms

coinmate inmacy inmatehood

Synonyms

passenger convict con yard bird yardbird inpatient

Questions

How do you pronounce inmate?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɪn.meɪt/.
What does inmate mean?: A person confined to an institution such as a prison (as a convict) or hospital (as a patient).
Where does inmate come from?: From inn + -mate, or from in- + -mate.

How to pronounce inmate

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “inmate”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɪn.meɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “inmate”.
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