LOCK (UP) Synonyms: 95 Similar and Opposite Words

lock (up) 1 of 2

verb

Definition of lock (up)

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!

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

outside

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)

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 See All Example Sentences for lock (up)

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)

Verb

Americans in the nation's early days could be jailed for failing to repay debts — and some argue that debtors' prisons persist.

— Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Davis anti-transgender activist and school board candidate Beth Bourne was briefly jailed on trespassing charges Tuesday after her arrest outside a Sonoma high school, the Sonoma newspaper reported.

— Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of jail

Noun

The 911 call recordings, as reported by the Associated Press, showed that first responders and prison officials did not know whether a request for emergency help from within the execution chamber was legitimate.

— David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
Eady-Williams sentenced Pham and Salerno to life in prison without possibility of parole for the murder charges.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of prison

Verb

Jair Bolsonaro is imprisoned in connection with this case, while his son has pledged to grant him amnesty as his first act in office.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
In 1824, the British lockmaker Charles Chubb challenged a burglar, who was imprisoned on a ship, to open one of his toughest locks.

— Shayla Love, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of imprison

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locks (up)

lock (up)

lockup

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“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of lock (up)

verb

noun

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