Synonyms of lock (up)

lock (up) 1 of 2

verb

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

• jail
• imprison
• intern
• confine
• incarcerate
• detain
• arrest
• restrain
• commit
• immure
• shut
• limit
• catch
• capture
• gate
• restrict
• constrain
• jug
• apprehend
• pick up
• bind
• seize
• bar
• pinch
• keep
• hold
• impress
• shanghai
• bust
• shackle
• impound
• enchain
• fetter
• nab
• handcuff
• manacle
• trammel

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• liberate
• discharge
• release
• free
• manumit
• enfranchise
• emancipate
• unbind
• unchain
• unfetter
• uncage

lockup

2 of 2

noun

ˈläk-ˌəp 

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

• jail
• prison
• penitentiary
• brig
• jailhouse
• stockade
• slammer
• calaboose
• pen
• guardroom
• bridewell
• pokey
• cooler
• hoosegow
• bastille
• cage
• coop
• big house
• hock
• clink
• joint
• slam
• stir
• jug
• cell
• tolbooth
• dungeon
• nick
• quod
• can
• tank
• hold
• bull pen
• ward
• guardhouse
• block
• hole
• gulag
• prison camp
• labor camp
• concentration camp
• reformatory
• stalag
• work camp
• keep
• glasshouse
• reform school
• oubliette
• hulk(s)
• training school

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• outside

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lock (up)

Noun

Mangione remains in pretrial lockup at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. — Ben Brachfeld, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026

He was sentenced in absentia after refusing to leave the courthouse lockup and attend the sentencing hearing. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2026

Yet for the insiders, the lockup expiry was more of a moment of pause. — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026

Typically, a company will instill a 180-day lockup period before pre-IPO shares become eligible to trade. — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026