as in to jail
to put in or as if in prison
if they catch you, they're going to lock you up and throw away the key!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
the firm conviction that juvenile offenders should never be held in adult lockups
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lock (up)
Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Alphabet still faces lockups, liquidity limits and a potential tax hit on any outright sale.
—Ashley Capoot,cj Haddad,samantha Subin,lora Kolodny, CNBC, 12 June 2026
Over time, SpaceX's weighting could increase as lockup restrictions – which typically prevent founders, employees and early investors from selling shares immediately after an IPO – expire.
—Medora Lee, USA Today, 12 June 2026
That decision found a lower court judge who had sided with Khalil and freed him from a Louisiana lockup lacked the legal authority to weigh in on the lawfulness of the detention.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Noun
The exact timing and size of the revenue bump remain uncertain, particularly because employee stock sales may be subject to vesting schedules, lockups, and staged sales, but the IPO could still generate meaningful personal income tax revenue for California.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Alphabet still faces lockups, liquidity limits and a potential tax hit on any outright sale.
—Ashley Capoot,cj Haddad,samantha Subin,lora Kolodny, CNBC, 12 June 2026
Over time, SpaceX's weighting could increase as lockup restrictions – which typically prevent founders, employees and early investors from selling shares immediately after an IPO – expire.
—Medora Lee, USA Today, 12 June 2026
That decision found a lower court judge who had sided with Khalil and freed him from a Louisiana lockup lacked the legal authority to weigh in on the lawfulness of the detention.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
-
Some chants from the crowd called for jailing the officer who killed Love.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
19 June 2026
-
Catis was jailed for 12 years after pleading guilty to possessing and intending to distribute nitazenes.—
Jonathan Moens — Bellingcat,
STAT,
18 June 2026
Noun
-
If convicted as charged, Wilburn faces up to 14 years in prison, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office told CNN.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
22 June 2026
-
Pope was a lieutenant in the Special Investigative Service (SIS) unit at the prison at the time of the offenses.—
Logan Smith,
CBS News,
21 June 2026
Verb
-
He was imprisoned for organizing the assassination of Polish Interior Minister Bronisław Pieracki in 1934.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
20 June 2026
-
Elyas said his father did not have high blood pressure before his detainment and developed the condition while imprisoned.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
20 June 2026
Noun
-
After a federal jury voted to convict him in early 2024, Hernández was sent to a notorious high-security penitentiary in West Virginia to serve his time.—
Keri Blakinger,
ProPublica,
11 June 2026
-
Mike Braun opened the Speedway Slammer at an Indiana prison, Jim Pillen opened the Cornhusker Clink at a Nebraska work camp, and Jeff Landry opened the Louisiana Lockup in a disused wing of Angola penitentiary.—
Eric Schlosser,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
