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)
Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
Owners reported sudden deceleration, downshifting, and temporary rear wheel lockups in 2015-2017 models.
—Jamie L. Lareau, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
Garnett’s pivotal rulings came a day after a 35-year-old Minnesota man was charged with impersonating an FBI agent in an apparent attempt to spring Mangione from federal lockup in Brooklyn in a bizarre episode detailed in court documents.
—Adam Reiss, NBC news, 30 Jan. 2026
They are being held together at an immigration lockup in Dilley.
—Elissa Jorgensen, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Noun
He’s being held at a federal lockup in Brooklyn.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
Owners reported sudden deceleration, downshifting, and temporary rear wheel lockups in 2015-2017 models.
—Jamie L. Lareau, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
Garnett’s pivotal rulings came a day after a 35-year-old Minnesota man was charged with impersonating an FBI agent in an apparent attempt to spring Mangione from federal lockup in Brooklyn in a bizarre episode detailed in court documents.
—Adam Reiss, NBC news, 30 Jan. 2026
They are being held together at an immigration lockup in Dilley.
—Elissa Jorgensen, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
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Women are arrested for violating dress codes, protesters are jailed and economic hardship has deepened across much of the population.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
21 Mar. 2026
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Another investigation was initiated the following year by the commission after Givens was accused of presiding over two criminal cases after she’d been recused, jailing a man in one case and revoking bond from another.—
Jane Harper,
Dallas Morning News,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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At Austin's June 2021 sentencing hearing at Scott County District Court in Minnesota, prosecutors asked that Austin Herbst be sentenced to 30 years in prison.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
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Mizan, the Iranian judiciary's official news agency, announced the execution of the three on Thursday, showing video of them sitting in prison uniforms in court.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In the Sixties in Greece, under military rule, the music of Mikis Theodorakis was prohibited by decree, its composer imprisoned and exiled.—
Christina Hioureas,
Rolling Stone,
22 Mar. 2026
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He was set to be imprisoned at the Salvadoran mega-prison CECOT, despite a judge's 2019 order that blocked his deportation there on the grounds that he could be harmed by local gangs.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Behind bars in state penitentiaries in Gatesville and Marlin, Mejia felt forgotten.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
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Prisons employ hundreds of workers locally at two military facilities, the nation’s first federal penitentiary, a Kansas correctional facility and a county jail, all within six miles of City Hall.—
Heather Hollingsworth,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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