cage

noun

\ 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

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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

These migrant mothers were met at the U.S.-Mexico border with an unconscionable policy that tears at the core values of our nation—babies ripped from the arms of their mothers and thrown into cages. — Glamour, "Untold Numbers of Mothers Separated From Their Children Will Spend Mother’s Day Alone," 10 May 2019 Several states have moved ahead in recent years with full bans on some of the worst practices in industrial agriculture, such as battery cages. — Kelsey Piper, Vox, "Dog and cat meat is now, finally, illegal," 18 Dec. 2018 In one cage, only seven generations were needed for every mosquito to inherit the gene-drive-carrying chromosome. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Gene drive used to turn all female mosquitos sterile," 27 Sep. 2018 Shannon Bream versus Katie Pavlich in a cage match to determine who wears the tiara, up next. — Fox News, "New evidence of political bias at Google; gender politics at play in Michigan Senate race," 21 Sep. 2018 There were glow-in-the-dark garters, green leopard-print robes, fishnet bodysuits layered over black bras, criss-cross cage lingerie sets adorned with flowers, a bright blue bra set styled with a do-rag. — Jessica Andrews, Teen Vogue, "Rihanna's Savage X Fenty New York Fashion Week Show Celebrated Women," 13 Sep. 2018 On a recent morning, Wood collected nine iguanas from cage traps set on a poop-speckled canal dock behind a condominium in North Miami Beach. — Linda Robertson, miamiherald, "South Florida is suffering from an iguana infestation. A solution? Think barbecue.," 11 July 2018 As a result, nearly 2,000 children were taken away from their parents and held in fenced cages at detention centers. — Victoria Rodriguez, Seventeen, "Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Nationwide "Families Belong Together" Protests on June 30," 22 June 2018 And lastly, on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was once again asked about the administration’s policy of holding refugee children in cages. — Lynn Yaeger, Vogue, "The Week in Washington: Can a Flagpole File a Harassment Lawsuit?," 10 Mar. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Addition Elle announced a partnership with Aldo aimed specifically at plus-size consumers looking for strappy sandals, caged heels, ankle boots, and cross-body bags that actually fit. — Glamour, "This New Aldo Shoe Collection Is Specifically for Plus-Size Shoppers," 26 Mar. 2019 Five Louisiana residents face federal charges for allegedly caging and abusing an autistic woman, two years after they were arrested on state charges in the case. — Kathleen Joyce, Fox News, "Autistic woman was allegedly caged and forced to eat her dead mother's ashes; 5 face federal charges," 28 July 2018 Texas is 39 percent Hispanic and has become the epicenter of the debate, with a former warehouse fitted with metal caging in the Rio Grande Valley housing more than 1,000 immigrant children. — Will Weissert, BostonGlobe.com, "Ted Cruz’s flip-flop on family separation shows threat to GOP," 19 June 2018 Listen especially to the repartee of a man and a woman caged together in a hellish union. — Lyndall Gordon, New York Times, "Jeremy Irons Breathes New Life Into ‘The Poems of T.S. Eliot’," 17 May 2018 But sounds of wailing toddlers separated from their parents and images of children held alone behind metal caging proved too much for Cruz and many in his party. — Washington Post, "Ground Game: Will family separation outcry hurt Texas GOP?," 29 June 2018 When that failed, the children of David and Louise Turpin were caged, Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham said. — Brian Melley, Fox News, "Prosecutor: Abused kids upbringing like 'Lord of the Flies'," 22 June 2018 The jacket Melania Trump wore to visit caged immigrant children. — CBS News, "Melania Trump doubles-down with "I really don't care" jacket," 21 June 2018 The White House contends that migrants have a right to be caged with their family members (except for those who have already been separated from their children, who aren’t necessarily entitled to ever see their kids again). — Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "We Owe Central American Migrants Much More Than This," 21 June 2018

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) though what the meaning of such a word would be is unclear, as cavea denotes an enclosure rather than a cavity in something larger; note that -eus is normally a denominal suffix meaning "made of" (see -eous). Perhaps of relevance is the suffix of alveus "trough, hull, channel" (see alveolus).

Verb

derivative of cage entry 1

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Dictionary Entries near cage

Statistics for cage

Last Updated

23 May 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for cage

The first known use of cage was in the 13th century

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More Definitions for cage

cage

noun

Financial Definition of cage

What It Is

A cage is a department in a brokerage firm.

How It Works

The cage is a physical location in which people at a brokerage firm handle physical securities and certificates. The location is called a cage because it usually has bars or other barriers to prevent other people from entering and exiting, and it usually has a vault.

Why It Matters

The cage is a crucial part of any brokerage firm's operations because it ensures that clients' physical certificates are kept safe and sound, and that the right securities are exchanged in transactions.

Source: Investing Answers

cage

noun