lockup

noun

lock·​up ˈläk-ˌəp How to pronounce lockup (audio)
1
: jail
especially : a local jail where persons are detained prior to court hearing
2
: an act of locking : the state of being locked

Examples of lockup in a Sentence

the firm conviction that juvenile offenders should never be held in adult lockups
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The treatment stems from the perception that private investments have risks such as a lack of transparency, which raises predatory concerns, as well as higher fees and long lockup periods. Sarah Min, CNBC, 13 July 2025 CoreCivic runs four private state prisons in Tennessee and has dozens more jails, prisons, reentry centers and federal immigration lockups across the country. Kelly Puente, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025 Whether or not Melendez or any of these men ever walk free, what was once California’s most notorious lockup is now a place that offers them the chance to change and provides the most elusive of emotions for prisoners — hope. Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2025 The ostentatious patriarch, 56, and his 52-year-old wife were released from federal lockup in the hours after the president signed off on one of his latest batches of controversial pardons. Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 29 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for lockup

Word History

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of lockup was in 1746

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Cite this Entry

“Lockup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lockup. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

lockup

noun
lock·​up -ˌəp How to pronounce lockup (audio)

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

More from Merriam-Webster on lockup

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