as in jails
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
the firm conviction that juvenile offenders should never be held in adult lockups
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Recent Examples of lockups
Owners reported sudden deceleration, downshifting, and temporary rear wheel lockups in 2015-2017 models.
—
Jamie L. Lareau, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
These investments are typically illiquid and long-term, with multi-year lockups and limited redemption options.
—Fred Hubler, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Jamie L. Lareau, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
These investments are typically illiquid and long-term, with multi-year lockups and limited redemption options.
—Fred Hubler, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lockups
Noun
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So far this fiscal year, the department has paid over $16 million to county jails to house state inmates, just under $2 million of which has gone to Ada County, said Mortensen, the spokesperson, in an email.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
26 Feb. 2026
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Last year, Colorado lawmakers briefly debated blocking ICE agents from entering nonpublic areas of jails.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The wave of prison violence is happening despite the deployment of military and police forces in several penitentiaries.—
Michael Rios,
CNN Money,
8 Dec. 2025
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After his conviction, Gray was sent to Angola, one of the most violent penitentiaries in the country at the time.—
Richard A. Webster,
ProPublica,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Questions had emerged over the fate of thousands of Islamic State prisoners, and their families in northeastern Syria after government forces last month seized swaths of territory long controlled by Kurdish forces that had been guarding the prisons.—
Nadeen Ebrahim,
CNN Money,
25 Feb. 2026
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Revisiting the case in December 2024, a Cold Case Unit detective searched the suspects’ profiles against DNA profiles of people incarcerated in Florida prisons to look for possible relatives.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lockups.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lockups. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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