lockup

noun lock·up \ ˈläk-ˌəp \

|Updated on: 19 Jun 2018

Examples: lockup in a Sentence

Definition of lockup

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

2 : an act of locking : the state of being locked

See lockup defined for English-language learners

See lockup defined for kids

Examples of lockup in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of lockup from the Web

Her husband, Reza Khandan, said Sotoudeh was arrested at their home in Tehran and taken to Evin prison, a notorious lockup just outside the city.

— spencer feingold, CNN, "Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer detained again," 14 June 2018
Since 2010, more than 30 inmates have killed themselves in county lockups, although the rate has declined in recent years.

— gary warth, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Parents want answers following son's death after jail release," 10 June 2018
For years drug use had washed him in and out of state lockups like a tide.

— kyle swenson, chicagotribune.com, "Indiana man missing for decades before being found in Florida thanks to ancestry website now owes abandoned family nearly $2 million," 31 May 2018
The findings, made public in March, said the lockup was out of compliance on nearly every standard set by the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.

— maya lau, latimes.com, "Another woman accuses L.A. sheriff's deputy of sexual assault inside jail," 19 May 2018
Suboxone, a Class III controlled substance used to treat heroin addiction, is frequently smuggled into lockups nationwide, according to authorities.

— travis andersen, BostonGlobe.com, "Lawyer charged with smuggling drugs into Plymouth jail for inmate," 10 May 2018
One tweak would require the Legislature's budget committee in the years ahead to sign off on final details, such as where the new lockups would be located and which counties would run them.

— patrick marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin will pay nearly $19 million to former teen inmate injured in suicide attempt," 20 Mar. 2018
The judge granted the motion and state Inspector Gerald Kumnick swabbed Silva’s cheek in the courtroom lockup.

— david owens, courant.com, "Judge Orders Double Murder Suspect To Provide DNA Sample To Prosecution," 25 May 2018
His administration embarked on what at the time was the largest prison construction program ever in the U.S., building 14 lockups and driving the inmate population from 35,000 in 1982 to 96,000 in 1990, his last year in office.

— john wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle, "George Deukmejian, governor who steered California to the right, dies at 89," 8 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lockup.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of lockup

1746

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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lockup Synonyms

LOCKUP Defined for English Language Learners

lockup

noun

Definition of lockup for English Language Learners

: a place where prisoners are kept
: a garage (sense 1) that is rented out

LOCKUP Defined for Kids

lockup

noun lock·up \ ˈläk-ˌəp \

Definition of lockup for Students

: prison

Law Dictionary

lockup

noun lock·up

legal Definition of lockup

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