lockup

noun

lock·​up ˈläk-ˌəp 

1

: jail

especially : a local jail where persons are detained prior to court hearing

2

: an act of locking : the state of being locked

Synonyms

• bastille
• big house [slang]
• bridewell
• brig
• calaboose
• can
• clink [slang]
• cooler
• coop
• guardroom
• hock
• hold
• hoosegow
• jail
• jailhouse
• joint [slang]
• jug
• nick [British slang]
• pen
• penitentiary
• pokey [slang]
• prison
• quod [British slang]
• slam
• slammer
• stir [slang]
• stockade
• tolbooth [Scottish]

Examples of lockup in a Sentence

the firm conviction that juvenile offenders should never be held in adult lockups

Recent Examples on the Web

The Brooklyn jail is the city’s only federal lockup and previously held high-profile inmates like Sam Bankman-Fried, Ghislaine Maxwell and R. Kelly. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2025

Per the outlet, at least 645 defendants were sentenced to periods ranging from a few days to 22 years in federal lockup, with 250 people currently in custody. —Nicholas Rice, People.com, 8 Dec. 2024

Trump and other company insiders were barred from selling their shares until Sept. 19, when a lockup agreement expired. —Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2024

The police released Barrera Hernandez around 11:30 a.m. on Monday, but ICE agents were waiting for her in the lockup, the Press Herald reported. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

lockup

noun

lock·​up -ˌəp 

: prison sense 2, jail

Legal Definition

lockup

noun

lock·​up

1

: a cell or group of cells (as in a courthouse) or jail where persons are held prior to a court hearing compare house of correction, house of detention, jail, penitentiary, prison

2

: the tactic of arranging with a friendly party an option to buy a valuable portion of one's corporate assets in order to discourage a takeover by another party