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)
Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
After he was arrested and placed into lockup at the police department, Cabassa reportedly flooded a portion of the building after blocking his toilet in his cell.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 14 Mar. 2026
Shares of online ticket seller StubHub tumbled Thursday after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and ahead of the expiration of its IPO lockup on Friday.
—Luisa Beltran, Sportico.com, 5 Mar. 2026
He’s being held at a federal lockup in Brooklyn.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Noun
The request comes amid growing concern over conditions inside county lockups.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
After he was arrested and placed into lockup at the police department, Cabassa reportedly flooded a portion of the building after blocking his toilet in his cell.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 14 Mar. 2026
Shares of online ticket seller StubHub tumbled Thursday after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and ahead of the expiration of its IPO lockup on Friday.
—Luisa Beltran, Sportico.com, 5 Mar. 2026
He’s being held at a federal lockup in Brooklyn.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
-
Since the 2021 army takeover, nearly 8,000 civilians have been killed and some 22,208 political detainees remain jailed, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights monitoring group.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Confronted by the local cops, Strahler admitted to creating and sending the images, then was arrested and jailed.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Back then, Motta was still in law school and Alfortish had only just been released from prison.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
After being admonished by the judge, Terry Rose listens as he is sentenced to 40 years in prison.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Fighters who were not killed in the final battle in Baghuz, Syria, were imprisoned and their families detained.—
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
11 Apr. 2026
-
It was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, less than a year after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, alongside Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, who was imprisoned at the time, and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties.—
Dasha Litvinova,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The government opened the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz in 1934, hoping to use the remote island to house particularly difficult prisoners, according to the National Park Service.—
Justine McDaniel,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Apr. 2026
-
But Wood’s penitentiary is considerably sturdier.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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