served time
Was behind bars
Served time means spent a period in prison as punishment for a crime.
The phrase treats incarceration as a debt paid to society: He served time for armed robbery.
Someone who has served time is an ex-convict.
The expression can extend to any obligatory period endured: I served my time in that dead-end job.
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
- prison sentenceMandated period of incarceration
- sentenceComplete thought, grammatically
- detentionTemporary official holding
- lockupTemporary detention facility
jailtime · convict · custody · incarceration · probation · second chance · parole · inmate · rehabilitation · cellblock · reintegration · criminal record · confinement · correctional · reentry programs · reformatory · penitentiary · housing discrimination
served timeacquitted
Declared legally innocent
found not guilty · got away with it · freed · exonerated · got off
serve, served, serving, serves, server, servers, service, services, serviced