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

At the time, Muñoz was imprisoned at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County, prosecutors said.

— Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026
While the title sequence spoiled one death, the series’ premiere featured a bigger, more shocking killing of an original Big Bang character, Raj (Kunal Nayyar), who had been imprisoned at CalTech by Barry Kripke (Bowie).

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 23 July 2026

Definition of imprisoned

Verb

One of our young people in Tulsa, Oklahoma, interned at a company in their risk management department.

— Byron V. Garrett, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Truell, a New York City native, interned at Google, while Sanger, a member of MIT’s squash team, interned at Bridgewater Associates.

— Bloomberg, Mercury News, 17 June 2026

Definition of interned

Verb

Elevated risk of death after incarceration For decades, federal Medicaid dollars were prohibited from paying for most health care provided to people while they were incarcerated.

— Julie Wernau, NPR, 22 July 2026
After statements from attorneys on both sides, as well as statements from Porter and his father, the judge handed down a sentence of 324 months in federal prison and recommended that Porter receive substance abuse treatment while incarcerated.

— Mary Lyle, Arkansas Online, 22 July 2026

Definition of incarcerated

Verb

What’s Happening Evening exercise is being reevaluated by the same clinicians who once told patients to keep workouts confined to mornings.

— Lauren Jarvis-Gibson July 23, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026
Schools have often confined meaningful creation to entrepreneurship clubs, hackathons, and extracurricular programs.

— Ray Ravaglia, Forbes.com, 23 July 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 25 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of locked (up)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

vituperate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

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

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

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

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

Popular in Wordplay

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes