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
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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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Sherry had been in and out of prison for years, while Juan had battled chronic illness.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
12 June 2025
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Both face felony charges and over six years in prison.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2025
Verb
-
It was focused on feeding the poor, taking care of the sick and elderly, and feeding those imprisoned in York Castle, and was self-sufficient until the rise of the Reformation movement.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
20 June 2025
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More than 200 Venezuelan nationals accused of gang affiliations were transferred to El Salvador, where they were imprisoned in the country's high-security mega-prison.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
Noun
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The Torchlight Tour at Fremantle Prison takes visitors into the cells, tunnels, and courtyards of the prison, all by handheld light, with guides recounting the stories of those imprisoned in the 19th-century penitentiary.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
31 May 2025
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But their attempts to address more fundamental corruption backfire; many interpret their pragmatic cooperation with the government as carrying water for Juan Orlando Hernández, a strongman president later exposed as a drug trafficker who is now serving a 45-year sentence in a U.S. penitentiary.—
Katherine Corcoran,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.
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