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)
Danielle Wallace, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2025
Officers with batons formed a perimeter around the adjacent Metropolitan Detention Center, the federal lockup, drawing attention from National Guard troops who lined the area.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 9 June 2025
Thus, the risk of the lockup’s end creating lower lows ended, making that decline a one-time event.
—John S. Tobey, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
These insiders are free to sell once the lockup expires, typically causing the shares to drop or become more volatile.
—Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Noun
Prosecutors said MacGregor allegedly escorted the defendant, his attorney and an interpreter downstairs to the lockup and used his security access card to open the rear sally-port exit and release the defendant.
—Danielle Wallace, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2025
Officers with batons formed a perimeter around the adjacent Metropolitan Detention Center, the federal lockup, drawing attention from National Guard troops who lined the area.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 9 June 2025
Thus, the risk of the lockup’s end creating lower lows ended, making that decline a one-time event.
—John S. Tobey, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
These insiders are free to sell once the lockup expires, typically causing the shares to drop or become more volatile.
—Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
-
Maxwell was jailed for 20 years in June 2022 following a one month trial concluding in December 2021.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 July 2025
-
According to Collin County records, he was jailed and released.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 July 2025
Noun
-
Between 2020 and 2023, 529 people died in general population Tennessee prisons, excluding 162 deaths that occurred in a medical unit prison.—
Melissa Brown,
The Tennessean,
15 July 2025
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What To Know According to an anonymous source speaking to the Daily Mail, Maxwell, who was convicted in 2022 over her links to Epstein's illicit activities and is serving a 20-year prison sentence, has expressed a willingness to testify before Congress about her experiences.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 July 2025
Verb
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Iranian director Farsi experienced the revolution at 13, was imprisoned at 16 as a dissident, and left her native Iran at 18.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
10 July 2025
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On the afternoon of July 2, the Phoenix Police Department responded to calls from a woman who reported the details of her assault, kidnapping and threats against her life while physically imprisoned at a home near Interstate 17 and Orangewood Avenue, court documents said.—
Rey Covarrubias Jr,
AZCentral.com,
8 July 2025
Noun
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Her various occupations, paid and unpaid, included teaching convicts at an area penitentiary and substitute-teaching in junior high.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 June 2025
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At the beloved attraction in San Francisco Bay, visitors could scarcely believe Trump had suggested turning Alcatraz back into a penitentiary.—
Heather Knight,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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