- a close prison cell, often underground
- a variant of donjon
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
dun•geon /ˈdʌndʒən/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Architecturea strong, dark prison or cell, such as in a medieval castle.
dun•geon
(dun′jən),USA pronunciation n.
- Architecturea strong, dark prison or cell, usually underground, as in a medieval castle.
- Architecturethe keep or stronghold of a castle;
donjon.
- Vulgar Latin *domniōn- (stem of *domniō) keep, mastery, syncopated variant of *dominiōn- dominion
- Middle French donjon
- Middle English dungeo(u)n, dongeoun, dungun 1250–1300
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
dungeon /ˈdʌndʒən/ n
'dungeon' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):