supermax

English

Etymology

From super- +‎ max (as in maximum security prison).

Pronunciation

  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

supermax (plural supermaxes)

  1. (US) A prison with the highest possible level of security.
    • 2012 June 18, Andrew Cohen, “An American Gulag: Descending into Madness at Supermax”, in James Bennet, editor, The Atlantic‎[1], Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 9 May 2026:
      As he sits today in Supermax, Powers had amputated his fingers, a testicle, his scrotum and his earlobes, has cut his Achilles tendon, and had tried several times to kill himself.

Adjective

supermax (not comparable)

  1. Being, or pertaining to, such a prison.
    Synonym: ADX
    • 2023 June 11, “‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski died by suicide in prison – report”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 October 2026:
      Kaczynski had been held in the federal supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, since May 1998, when he was sentenced to four life sentences plus 30 years for a campaign of terror that set universities nationwide on edge.
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