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
Relevance
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
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.
Recent Examples of lock (up)
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
Investors holding just over half of Figma's outstanding Class A stock have agreed to an extended lockup, with the final 35% of their shares expiring in August 2026.
—Jordan Novet, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2025
The Chrisley family's grand return to TV after Todd and Julie's pardon releases from prison is marred by family strife that grew during the years of lockup.
—Ryan Coleman September 2, EW.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Since that peak, CoreWeave’s stock price has steadily dropped, in part because of the end of the lockup period that allowed early investors to sell their shares.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Noun
Phil tells Johnny that Blackie met Allen in lockup, too, and Allen is bad news.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
Investors holding just over half of Figma's outstanding Class A stock have agreed to an extended lockup, with the final 35% of their shares expiring in August 2026.
—Jordan Novet, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2025
The Chrisley family's grand return to TV after Todd and Julie's pardon releases from prison is marred by family strife that grew during the years of lockup.
—Ryan Coleman September 2, EW.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Since that peak, CoreWeave’s stock price has steadily dropped, in part because of the end of the lockup period that allowed early investors to sell their shares.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
-
The state can fairly easily police the requirement that Max be installed on new phones by threatening phone companies that don’t comply or even jailing their executives.—
Justin Sherman,
The Atlantic,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Orwell was thinking about a society where people who spoke out were jailed, potentially executed and were kind of disappeared.—
Pamela Avila,
USA Today,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The other defendant was handed 10 years in prison for spying on behalf of France, five years in prison on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime against national security, and 17 years of imprisonment for assisting Israeli intelligence services.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Co-directed by filmmaker Toia Bonino and incarcerated Marcos Joubert, Do or Die is a rare, intimate portrait of prison life and a meditation on cinema itself—filmed entirely on a phone behind bars.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
When he is imprisoned on the basis of false testimony, with no hope of release, the intrepid Mercédès tries to break him out of jail.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
14 Oct. 2025
-
The last battle in CaliforniaThe Modocs who had attacked peace commissioners were imprisoned at Fort Klamath, where they were tried and convicted of murder.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
If found guilty of a level 5 felony, Sanchez could be imprisoned anywhere from one to six years at an Indiana penitentiary and fined up to $10,000, according to the Indiana Code.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
12 Oct. 2025
-
And Jack Henry Abbott, everyone was getting into his corner and trying to promote the idea that his art was reason enough for him to be released from the penitentiary.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share