cage

noun

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\ ˈkāj

Definition of cage

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : a box or enclosure having some openwork for confining or carrying animals (such as birds)

2a : a barred cell for confining prisoners

b : a fenced area for prisoners of war

3 : a framework serving as support the steel cage of a skyscraper

4a : an enclosure resembling a cage in form or purpose a cashier's cage

b : an arrangement of atoms or molecules so bonded as to enclose a space in which another atom or ion (as of a metal) can reside

5a : batting cage

b : a goal consisting of posts or a frame with a net attached (as in ice hockey)

6 : a large building containing an area for practicing outdoor sports and often adapted for indoor events

cage

verb

caged; caging

Definition of cage (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1 : to confine or keep in or as if in a cage

2 : to drive (a puck, a shot, etc.) into a cage and score a goal

Cage

biographical name

\ ˈkāj

Definition of Cage (Entry 3 of 3)

John Milton 1912–1992 American composer

Other Words from cage Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About cage

Examples of cage in a Sentence

Noun the dogs and cats at the animal shelter looked so sad in their cages Verb caged the rabbit at night so she wouldn't wake everyone up

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The man in the cage, the one our heroes stumbled upon at the end of the last episode, claims to be the Dragon Reborn. — Randall Colburn, EW.com, 26 Nov. 2021 Isabella was kept in the cage at night, the sister told police. — Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, ajc, 12 Nov. 2021 When the boy began urinating and defecating in the cage, Kubina required him to wear diapers originally purchased for the youngest child in the house. — Meredith Colias-pete, chicagotribune.com, 29 Oct. 2021 As far as White is concerned, what happened to Kahlon in the cage is comeuppance enough for the UFC to not take any action. — Simon Samano, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2021 Everything Sherry is doing and saying to Love while in the cage is her best-hand manipulation. — Valentina Valentini, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2021 Although Benson is more experienced in the cage, Maria is more experienced on the ground because of her career in jiu jitsu. — Madison Thacker, The Arizona Republic, 15 Oct. 2021 Both servings are said to be made with cage-free eggs. — Michele Herrmann, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2021 Some of the minimum housing space requirements for hens and calves went into effect January 1, 2020, with the second batch of regulations — notably calling for cage-free hens and crate-free hogs — slated for the first of next year. — Alicia Wallace, CNN, 17 Oct. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Adetiba says the successful outing taught her not to cage her audience. — Anita Patrick, CNN, 16 Aug. 2021 Securities regulators are trying to cage Elon Musk’s tweets. — Francesca Fontana, WSJ, 4 June 2021 In July, climbers cage the cones of those trees to foil the Clark’s nutcracker. — Jim Morrison, Wired, 24 Dec. 2020 Trump’s instinctive unilateralism, his belief that international institutions cage the U.S. rather than project its power, forced other nations to change their calculations about dealing with Washington. — Tom Mctague, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2020 Mary Lynn Parker of Tiger Haven told Knox News her shelter has been helping with the search and that a trap has been set in an attempt to cage the feline. — Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2020 Somehow—possibly inside Wuhan’s Hua’nan live animal market—a bat’s urine or saliva passed to some other caged beast, infecting that animal. — Laurie Garrett, The New Republic, 2 Apr. 2020 Only my annual, heartbreaking attempt to cage my berries from the birds vexes me more. — Charlotte Mendelson, The New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2020 No individuals or families should continue to be caged as the pandemic spreads. — Alina Das, Quartz, 25 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for cage

Noun

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin cavea "enclosure for poultry, cage, auditorium of a theater," of uncertain origin

Note: Latin cavea is usually taken to be a noun derivative of an unattested adjective *caveus, from cavus "hollow, concave" (see cave entry 1, hole entry 1), the sense "something hollow, cavity" being extended to "enclosed space" and then "enclosure"; however, -eus is normally a denominal suffix meaning "made of" (see -eous), so that the resulting sense of the derivative is not clear. Perhaps of relevance is the suffix of alveus "trough, hull, channel" (see alveolus).