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 exact timing and size of the revenue bump remain uncertain, particularly because employee stock sales may be subject to vesting schedules, lockups, and staged sales, but the IPO could still generate meaningful personal income tax revenue for California. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026

Alphabet still faces lockups, liquidity limits and a potential tax hit on any outright sale. —Ashley Capoot,cj Haddad,samantha Subin,lora Kolodny, CNBC, 12 June 2026

Over time, SpaceX's weighting could increase as lockup restrictions – which typically prevent founders, employees and early investors from selling shares immediately after an IPO – expire. —Medora Lee, USA Today, 12 June 2026

Of course, investors won’t see tangible returns from the offering until the staggered lockup period begins weeks after the IPO, starting with its second-quarter earnings. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 11 June 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