jailbroke
ˈjāl-ˌbrōk 
; jailbreaking; jailbreaks
; jailbreaking; jailbreaks
: to remove built-in limitations from (an electronic device, such as a cell phone)
I'm not trying to be overly snarky here, but for … in-house app distribution, I see no need or advantage to jailbreaking an iOS device.—
John Welch
John WelchLast week we learned you can jailbreak every current model of Kindle.—Thorin Klosowski
Thorin KlosowskiApple makes it nearly impossible for the average user to download apps from anywhere else unless you jailbreak your phone.—Peter Wells
Peter WellsExamples of jailbreak in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jasmine Cui, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025
Louisiana politicians say there are others to blame for the jailbreak, pointing the finger at each other as well as broader systemic failures.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 9 Oct. 2025
Jasmine Cui, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025
However, when Leila arrives at the institution, planning to jailbreak her bestie, things begin to shift.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jailbreak
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
To jailbreak ChatGPT, NBC News asked the models an innocuous question, included the jailbreak prompt and then asked an additional question that would normally trigger a denial for violating safety terms, like a request for how to create a dangerous poison or defraud a bank.
—Jasmine Cui, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025
Louisiana politicians say there are others to blame for the jailbreak, pointing the finger at each other as well as broader systemic failures.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
To jailbreak ChatGPT, NBC News asked the models an innocuous question, included the jailbreak prompt and then asked an additional question that would normally trigger a denial for violating safety terms, like a request for how to create a dangerous poison or defraud a bank.
—Jasmine Cui, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025
However, when Leila arrives at the institution, planning to jailbreak her bestie, things begin to shift.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jailbreak
Cite this Entry
“Jailbreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jailbreak. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
jailbreak
noun
jail·break
-ˌbrāk
: an escape from jail by use of force
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share