confinement

noun

con·​fine·​ment kən-ˈfīn-mənt 

: an act of confining : the state of being confined

solitary confinement

especially : lying-in

Synonyms

• captivity
• internment
• imprisonment
• incarceration
• prison

Examples of confinement in a Sentence

The dog was kept in confinement until it was determined to be healthy.

He remained with his wife during her confinement.

Recent Examples on the Web

He was arrested following the shooting and is currently in pre-trial confinement. —Greg Wehner , Liz Friden, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2025

Radford has been interviewed by Army investigators and is in pretrial confinement, Lubas said. —Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2025

Now, the 37-year-old mom is charged with neglect of a child, four counts of confinement of an animal without food and three counts of cruelty to animals, records show. —Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2025

Like oversight provided at all security levels in BOP institutions, placing a person in an RRC or home confinement is very much still incarceration. —Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French, from confiner "to confine entry 2" + -ment -ment

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing confinement

• solitary confinement

Rhymes for confinement

• misalignment
• nonalignment
• realignment
• reassignment
• reconsignment
• alignment
• alinement
• assignment
• consignment
• refinement

Medical Definition

confinement

noun

con·​fine·​ment kən-ˈfīn-mənt 

: an act of confining : the state of being confined

especially : lying-in

Legal Definition

confinement

noun

con·​fine·​ment

1

: the act of confining

2

: the state of being confined