Synonyms of lock (up)

lock (up) 1 of 2

verb

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

• jail
• imprison
• intern
• confine
• incarcerate
• detain
• arrest
• restrain
• commit
• immure
• shut
• limit
• catch
• capture
• gate
• restrict
• constrain
• jug
• apprehend
• pick up
• bind
• seize
• bar
• pinch
• keep
• hold
• impress
• shanghai
• bust
• shackle
• impound
• enchain
• fetter
• nab
• handcuff
• manacle
• trammel

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• liberate
• discharge
• release
• free
• manumit
• enfranchise
• emancipate
• unbind
• unchain
• unfetter
• uncage

lockup

2 of 2

noun

ˈläk-ˌəp 

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

• jail
• prison
• penitentiary
• brig
• jailhouse
• stockade
• slammer
• calaboose
• pen
• guardroom
• bridewell
• pokey
• cooler
• hoosegow
• bastille
• cage
• coop
• big house
• hock
• clink
• joint
• slam
• stir
• jug
• cell
• tolbooth
• dungeon
• nick
• quod
• can
• tank
• hold
• bull pen
• ward
• guardhouse
• block
• hole
• gulag
• prison camp
• labor camp
• concentration camp
• reformatory
• stalag
• work camp
• keep
• glasshouse
• reform school
• oubliette
• hulk(s)
• training school

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• outside

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lock (up)

Noun

The blade is paired with a crossbar-style lock designed to offer secure lockup while keeping operation intuitive. — New Atlas, 21 July 2026

That event will trigger the first wave of stock-sale lockups expiring. — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 16 July 2026

SpaceX, however, took the flexible lockup approach, wrapped it in a puzzle, strapped it to an enigma, and sent it to live in a colony on Mars. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 3 July 2026

In at least 38 instances, the ring flew six large-payload drones to deliver contraband to federal lockups in Atlanta and Jesup, and at prisons in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 25 June 2026