1
: a box or enclosure having some openwork for confining or carrying animals (such as birds)
2
a
: 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
4
a
: 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
5
a
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
caged; caging
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
Synonyms
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
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024
Owls, the nocturnal bird, started flying in circles and clawing at the cage right as the sky was turning dark.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024
And the two-bedroom Paris suite transforms a 1919 belle époque brass and copper elevator cage from Paris into a queen bed.
—Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2024
Kate warns this makes young plants super susceptible to abuse and suggests protecting seedlings with wire cages and trellises or even surrounding fragile plants with hardy herbs, such as rosemary or lavender to create a natural protective barrier.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 9 Apr. 2024
The first two cages rotate together every 30 seconds, and the third every 60 seconds.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
Other guests included the interior designer Kate Marshall, 36, who is Gavin McLaughlin’s wife, and the Nantucket oyster farmer Terry Ruggiero, 38, who distress washes denim in oyster cages in the ocean for his clothing brand, Luna Salt.
—Vanessa Golembewski, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Kanye West threatened to lock kids in cages at his private Christian school, new suit says
Carole Middleton, a former British Airways flight attendant, launched Party Pieces in 1987, as a company that made children’s birthday party bags.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Steeped in history, its bird cage was first built for the 1904 World’s Fair in STL.
—Vogue, 3 Apr. 2024
Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Elections can’t be free where the minds of voters are caged.
—Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024
Tucked among leafy tree branches, caged macaws and cockatoos watched from above as children plunged their greasy hands into piles of fries.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
To cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024
Hefner kept two pet lovebirds caged in his bathroom, but several died, said BuzzFeed.
—Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week Uk, theweek, 30 Jan. 2024
In the late 1960s, big auto makers welcomed caged robotic arms (not safe for people to be around), stirring more innovations under the rubric of advanced manufacturing.
—Rich Blake, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Fashioned by a woodcarver (David Bradley) grieving over the loss of his child, the little wooden puppet (Gregory Mann) is a rambunctious, willful lad who refuses to be caged or silenced.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 31 Jan. 2024
In the video, submitted as evidence in the court case and viewed by Fortune, Kry, dressed in a blue gingham shirt and sunglasses, watches as workers unload caged monkeys from the back of a pickup truck at the Cambodian breeding facility.
—Erika Fry, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2024
Noun
Read Next ‘Unusual’ creature — with ultrasonic song — escapes its cage.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024
Owls, the nocturnal bird, started flying in circles and clawing at the cage right as the sky was turning dark.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024
And the two-bedroom Paris suite transforms a 1919 belle époque brass and copper elevator cage from Paris into a queen bed.
—Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2024
Kate warns this makes young plants super susceptible to abuse and suggests protecting seedlings with wire cages and trellises or even surrounding fragile plants with hardy herbs, such as rosemary or lavender to create a natural protective barrier.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 9 Apr. 2024
The first two cages rotate together every 30 seconds, and the third every 60 seconds.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
Other guests included the interior designer Kate Marshall, 36, who is Gavin McLaughlin’s wife, and the Nantucket oyster farmer Terry Ruggiero, 38, who distress washes denim in oyster cages in the ocean for his clothing brand, Luna Salt.
—Vanessa Golembewski, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Kanye West threatened to lock kids in cages at his private Christian school, new suit says
Carole Middleton, a former British Airways flight attendant, launched Party Pieces in 1987, as a company that made children’s birthday party bags.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Steeped in history, its bird cage was first built for the 1904 World’s Fair in STL.
—Vogue, 3 Apr. 2024
Verb
Those include caging seedlings to protect them from hungry animals, which increases their survival odds almost five-fold, according to Erin Knight, a biological science technician at the preserve.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Elections can’t be free where the minds of voters are caged.
—Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024
Tucked among leafy tree branches, caged macaws and cockatoos watched from above as children plunged their greasy hands into piles of fries.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
To cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024
Hefner kept two pet lovebirds caged in his bathroom, but several died, said BuzzFeed.
—Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week Uk, theweek, 30 Jan. 2024
In the late 1960s, big auto makers welcomed caged robotic arms (not safe for people to be around), stirring more innovations under the rubric of advanced manufacturing.
—Rich Blake, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Fashioned by a woodcarver (David Bradley) grieving over the loss of his child, the little wooden puppet (Gregory Mann) is a rambunctious, willful lad who refuses to be caged or silenced.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 31 Jan. 2024
In the video, submitted as evidence in the court case and viewed by Fortune, Kry, dressed in a blue gingham shirt and sunglasses, watches as workers unload caged monkeys from the back of a pickup truck at the Cambodian breeding facility.
—Erika Fry, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cage. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cage
1 of 2 noun1
: an enclosure that has large openings covered usually with wire net or bars and is used for keeping animals or birds
2
: an enclosure like a cage in form or purpose
cageful
noun
cage
2 of 2 verb
caged; caging
: to put or keep in or as if in a cage
Medical Definition
cage
noun
: 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
Biographical Definition
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