jail·break
ˈjāl-ˌbrāk
plural jailbreaks
1
or less commonly jail break plural jail breaks
: a forcible escape from jail
2
: a method for overcoming the built-in limitations of something (such as an electronic device or artificial intelligence model)
Hackers have released a new jailbreak that any user can employ to gain root (see root entry 1 sense 8) access on any iPhone …—iCrowdNewswire
That's not to say that clever AI users won't develop new jailbreak techniques that work on … other models in the future.—Chris Smith
jailbroke
ˈjāl-ˌbrōk
; jailbreaking; jailbreaks
: to remove built-in limitations from (something, such as an electronic device or artificial intelligence model)
Apple makes it nearly impossible for the average user to download apps from anywhere else unless you jailbreak your phone.—Peter Wells
Last week we learned you can jailbreak every current model of Kindle.—Thorin Klosowski
Instead, cyber criminals are forced to pivot to older, lower quality open-source AI models that are easier to jailbreak.—Anna Desmarais
jailbreaking
noun
Jailbreaking works by prompting an AI model in specific ways to circumnavigate its safeguards.
—Hugo Lowell et al.
Cite this Entry
“Jailbreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jailbreak. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.
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