Meanings
proper noun
- An island in San Francisco Bay California, United States, formerly the site of a famous prison; in full, Alcatraz Island.
- abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, a famous former U.S. federal prison, on the island.
Alcatraz was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
2025 May 4, Samantha Waldenberg, “Trump says he is directing Bureau of Prisons to reopen Alcatraz to house ‘ruthless and violent o\ffenders’”, in CNN - abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of Fort Alcatraz, a U.S. coastal defense fort, predecessor of the prison.
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
- Arabicالْغَطَّاس“the diver”
- SpanishIsla de los Alcatraces“island of gannets”
- EnglishAlcatraz
From Spanish Isla de los Alcatraces (“island of gannets”), from Arabic الْغَطَّاس (al-ḡaṭṭās, “the diver”); named by Juan Manuel de Ayala, an explorer of San Francisco Bay.
More words from Spanish, Arabic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Greek Αλκατράζ
- Αλκατράζ (Alkatráz)an island in the San Francisco bay, formerly a famous prison
Hindi ऐल्कट्रैज़
- ऐल्कट्रैज़ (ailkaṭraiz)an island in the San Francisco bay, formerly a famous prison
Portuguese Alcatraz
- Alcatrazan island in the San Francisco bay, formerly a famous prison
Cite this entry
APA
Alcatraz. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Alcatraz
MLA
“Alcatraz.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Alcatraz. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Alcatraz,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Alcatraz.
Source: Alcatraz on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.