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
Relevance
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
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.
Recent Examples of lock (up)
Kelly Davis, Mercury News, 19 May 2025
This as the Florida GOP sold merchandise celebrating the lockup, which features chain-link enclosures the president said could hold some 10,000 people.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 3 July 2025
The White House similarly promoted the political shock value of sending some immigrants awaiting deportation to a detention lockup in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and others to a megaprison in El Salvador.
—Will Weissert, Chicago Tribune, 1 July 2025
The White House similarly promoted the political shock value of sending some immigrants awaiting deportation from the U.S. to a detention lockup in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and others to a megaprison in El Salvador.
—Adriana Gomez Licon, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Noun
Over the next five pages, the girl describes witnessing a friend being beaten by guards at the East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility, one of San Diego’s two juvenile lockups.
—Kelly Davis, Mercury News, 19 May 2025
This as the Florida GOP sold merchandise celebrating the lockup, which features chain-link enclosures the president said could hold some 10,000 people.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 3 July 2025
The White House similarly promoted the political shock value of sending some immigrants awaiting deportation to a detention lockup in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and others to a megaprison in El Salvador.
—Will Weissert, Chicago Tribune, 1 July 2025
The White House similarly promoted the political shock value of sending some immigrants awaiting deportation from the U.S. to a detention lockup in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and others to a megaprison in El Salvador.
—Adriana Gomez Licon, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
-
Chavez said his first two days of unrestricted freedom have been a whirlwind, reuniting with friends and family, and finally getting to meaningfully connect with his daughter, who was born right around the time he was first jailed.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
28 July 2025
-
Uribe joins a list of Latin American leaders who have been convicted and sometimes jailed, including Peru’s Alberto Fujimori, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa, Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez and Panama’s Ricardo Martinelli.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
28 July 2025
Noun
-
Widmer was convicted of murder at his third trial in 2011, and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.—
Victoria Moorwood,
The Enquirer,
31 July 2025
-
Brendan Doyle, who was also convicted of identity theft and robbery, was sentenced last year to 28 years and eight months to life in prison.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 July 2025
Verb
-
The chapel, constructed between 1519 and 1520 under Henry VIII, serves as the final resting place for famous historical figures like Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, Thomas More, John Fisher and Lady Jane Grey, all of whom who were imprisoned and beheaded at the Tower.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
25 July 2025
-
The trailer starts out with Starlight saving Sinclair’s blood-bending hero Marie from the mysterious hospital room where she was imprisoned in the Season 1 finale.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
25 July 2025
Noun
-
But local officials and historians have questioned the practical and symbolic implications of converting the island back into a penitentiary.—
Kate Talerico,
Mercury News,
17 July 2025
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share