as in to jail
to put in or as if in prison
if they catch you, they're going to lock you up and throw away the key!
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
the firm conviction that juvenile offenders should never be held in adult lockups
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lock (up)
Jon Schuppe, NBC news, 7 May 2026
Salinas Valley has become one of the most violent lockups in the state.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Photos capture missing American’s husband in first sighting since lockup.
—FOXNews.com, 14 Apr. 2026
Diddy had faced a maximum of 20 years in lockup; the prosecution asked Subramanian for a 135-month sentence.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Noun
Kamlager-Dove’s bill, called the Pregnant Women in Custody Act, would require the federal government to collect data on pregnancies — how many, the treatment, the outcomes — not only in local jails, but also in federal and state lockups, including immigration detention facilities.
—Jon Schuppe, NBC news, 7 May 2026
Salinas Valley has become one of the most violent lockups in the state.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Photos capture missing American’s husband in first sighting since lockup.
—FOXNews.com, 14 Apr. 2026
Diddy had faced a maximum of 20 years in lockup; the prosecution asked Subramanian for a 135-month sentence.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
-
Jail records show that Henjum remains jailed at the Paul Rein Detention Facility as of Friday on 10 charges related to possession of child pornography.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
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Kepner’s parents have voiced their outrage that Hudson is not jailed pending his trial.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
Noun
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Ali wakes up in the morning to find Rue in the living room, learning from the news that Fez broke out of prison and vowing to get him.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
1 June 2026
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Erasures from his the poet’s journals narrate the speaker’s visit to his father in prison through the pinhole of what’s left of memory.—
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Ordinary Belarusians who took part in protests were rounded up and prosecuted, landing hundreds in the country’s notoriously brutal jails, while key opposition figures were imprisoned or forced into exile.—
Yuliya Talmazan,
NBC news,
30 May 2026
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Shirilla, who is currently imprisoned in the Ohio Reformatory for Women, will be eligible for parole in 2037.—
Marina Watts,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 May 2026
Noun
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The judge also said that attempted criminal homicide carries a possible sentence of 15 to 60 years in a Tennessee state penitentiary, the outlets reported.—
Luke Chinman,
PEOPLE,
18 May 2026
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In the early 1970s, the penitentiary remained poorly funded, and prison officials hoped to make money on the rodeo.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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