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 of lockup

• jail
• prison
• penitentiary

Examples of lockup in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The company’s Tuesday earnings report revealed larger-than-expected capital expenditures on artificial intelligence, while investors also geared up for the lockup expiry. — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026

More than 911 million SpaceX shares held by early investors and employees became eligible for sale on Thursday as a lockup period for the stock expired. — ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026

The mechanics of that phase, lockups, secondary markets, continuation funds, and the pressure venture firms are under to finally return capital to their own investors, are becoming just as important to understand as the IPOs themselves. — Steven Dudash, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026

On Thursday, nearly a billion shares of SpaceX, held by early employees and pre-IPO investors, will finally break free from their lockups. — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2026

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