A prison term is a period of TIME spent in prison as punishment for a crime. A SENTENCE is the official judgement given by a court of law, which can range from probation to a LIFE SENTENCE. TIME is the length of the prison term, which can be anything from a few days to many years. A STRETCH is a long prison term, usually lasting several years or more. LIFE is the longest possible prison term, meaning that the prisoner will remain in prison for the rest of their LIFE. Hardtime is a slang term for a long and difficult prison term.