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
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The 36-year-old was jailed for most of his life.—
Marianne Love,
Daily News,
4 June 2026
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If others remain jailed, Lukashenko keeps something to trade later.—
Tatsiana Kulakevich,
The Conversation,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Tlaib, Pohutsky and more than 30 other current and former lawmakers last month signed a letter demanding that Washington resign, citing concerns about the conditions in state prisons and recent inmate deaths.—
Nick Lentz,
CBS News,
7 June 2026
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On Monday, the killer, a Sikh man, was sentenced to life in prison over the knife attack last December.—
Freddie Clayton,
NBC news,
7 June 2026
Verb
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The Lieser family of Jewish industrialists was persecuted by the Nazis, including being imprisoned, and lost almost all their possessions to Nazi seizure.—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
5 June 2026
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Four ex-Presidents are currently imprisoned.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Mike Braun opened the Speedway Slammer at an Indiana prison, Jim Pillen opened the Cornhusker Clink at a Nebraska work camp, and Jeff Landry opened the Louisiana Lockup in a disused wing of Angola penitentiary.—
Eric Schlosser,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
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This includes providing the Colombian military more leeway in the field, signing a new security agreement with Washington and building 10 mega-prisons that mimic Bukele’s network of penitentiaries in El Salvador.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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