noun
brig
brihg
noun
1
A sailing ship with two masts, both square-rigged.
"The museum has a restored 19th-century brig moored in the harbour."
2
A prison on board a naval ship, or informally, any military jail.
"The sailor was thrown in the brig for insubordination."
How to Use Brig
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA two-masted sailing ship, or slang for a military jail.
Common pairings
thrown in the brig
a two-masted brig
Word Forms
brigged past tense, brigs plural, brigs plural, brigs plural, brigs singular
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Etymology
A shortening of "brigantine", itself from Italian brigantino. The "jail" sense developed because old brigs were sometimes used to hold prisoners.