lockup

noun

lock·​up ˈläk-ˌəp 

1

: jail

especially : a local jail where persons are detained prior to court hearing

2

: an act of locking : the state of being locked

Synonyms

• bastille
• big house [slang]
• bridewell
• brig
• calaboose
• can
• clink [slang]
• cooler
• coop
• guardroom
• hock
• hold
• hoosegow
• jail
• jailhouse
• joint [slang]
• jug
• nick [British slang]
• pen
• penitentiary
• pokey [slang]
• prison
• quod [British slang]
• slam
• slammer
• stir [slang]
• stockade
• tolbooth [Scottish]

Examples of lockup in a Sentence

the firm conviction that juvenile offenders should never be held in adult lockups

Recent Examples on the Web

She is being held in a federal lockup in Brooklyn, records obtained by the AP show. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Dali, 57, is a legal resident of the United States. —Pilar Arias, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2025

The arrests, announced Thursday by acting U.S. Attorney John Durham, cover a dozen incidents at the notorious lockup, which has long been plagued by violence, grim living conditions and medical mistreatment woes. —John Annese, New York Daily News, 6 Mar. 2025

As the earliest investors reach the end of their lockup periods, some will look to cash out their stakes, putting further selling pressure on the stock, which is still up 200% since the IPO. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2025

Even after a lockup expired, Trump sold zero shares, perhaps concerned that doing so would tank the stock price and erase billions from his net worth. —Dan Alexander, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lockup

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• makeup
• markup
• pickup

Kids Definition

lockup

noun

lock·​up -ˌəp 

: prison sense 2, jail

Legal Definition

lockup

noun

lock·​up

1

: a cell or group of cells (as in a courthouse) or jail where persons are held prior to a court hearing compare house of correction, house of detention, jail, penitentiary, prison

2

: the tactic of arranging with a friendly party an option to buy a valuable portion of one's corporate assets in order to discourage a takeover by another party