LOCKED (UP) Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

locked (up)

verb

past tense of lock (up)

as in imprisoned

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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for locked (up)

Verb

Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was imprisoned in Russia in March 2023 on espionage charges, was released in August 2024 as part of a prisoner swap with the United States.

— Scott Nover, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main political rival, has been imprisoned since March of last year and is on trial on corruption charges.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of imprisoned

Verb

Another suspect in the 2023 attacks, Italian anti-fascist activist Ilaria Salis, was jailed in Hungary for over a year following the assaults, resulting in a diplomatic dispute between Rome and Budapest over her treatment in detention.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
Both were jailed on misdemeanor battery charges and have since been released.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of jailed

Verb

Peyton Stewart was a 21-year-old international business major who grew up with her sister in Westwood, New Jersey, studied abroad in London and interned at TikTok.

— Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
Johnson hired a young Ossoff as a staffer on the recommendation of the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis, the civil rights icon Ossoff interned for and considered a mentor.

— Sam Gringlas, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of interned

Verb

That lesson will not stay confined to tolling ships or claiming seabeds.

— Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
The agreement’s political framework has been overtaken by events, and Ethiopia’s conflicts are no longer confined to the relationship between Addis Ababa and Mekelle.

— Alemayehu Fentaw Weldemariam, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of confined

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.

Browse Nearby Words

locked out

locked (up)

locker

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Locked (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/locked%20%28up%29. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of locked (up)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

tittle

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes