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)
ArsTechnica, 28 Apr. 2025
Attorneys said the roughly 20 parolees the state has returned to lockup need significant help performing basic functions of daily life, with some in wheelchairs or suffering from debilitating mental or physical disabilities.
—Don Thompson, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2025
Expect to see lockups happen here, and cars go straight into the run-off.
—Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 22 May 2025
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has opened an investigation into allegations of civil rights abuses at San Diego County’s two juvenile lockups, the East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility in Otay Mesa and the Youth Transition Campus in Kearny Mesa.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Noun
The plan allegedly started in April 2022, after the IPO lockup period expired and despite advisor warnings, including one from a capital markets consultant that such a trading plan likely breached Backblaze’s fiduciary duties.
—ArsTechnica, 28 Apr. 2025
Attorneys said the roughly 20 parolees the state has returned to lockup need significant help performing basic functions of daily life, with some in wheelchairs or suffering from debilitating mental or physical disabilities.
—Don Thompson, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2025
Expect to see lockups happen here, and cars go straight into the run-off.
—Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 22 May 2025
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has opened an investigation into allegations of civil rights abuses at San Diego County’s two juvenile lockups, the East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility in Otay Mesa and the Youth Transition Campus in Kearny Mesa.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
-
In the film’s single best scene, when Roebuck first meets Howitzer while jailed for existing while homosexual, Wright pulls back that armor.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
12 June 2025
-
They got blacklisted, and were jailed for contempt of Congress.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Edward Burke to only two years in prison for a series of shakedowns.—
Ray Long,
Chicago Tribune,
12 June 2025
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Sherry had been in and out of prison for years, while Juan had battled chronic illness.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
12 June 2025
Verb
-
The government controls education and public media; independent journalists and bloggers who have criticized the government have been imprisoned.—
Stephanie Yang,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2025
-
Within the labyrinth of halls, an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
6 June 2025
Noun
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He was freed on parole from the Terre Haute, Indiana, federal penitentiary on Nov. 30, 1948, after serving 32 months of his five-year prison sentence.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2025
-
However, he was sent back to the high-security prison in 1962 and stayed there until he was transferred to the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
6 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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