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

In April, a sheriff’s deputy who was part of a task force focused on keeping the county lockups free of drugs and gang activity was arrested and accused of smuggling drugs into one of the county jails. —Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2024

Trump Media has performed well since the former president vowed last month to not sell his shares in the company despite a lockup period that prevented him from doing so ending last month. —Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024

Loughlin pleaded guilty and also served two months in a federal lockup in California. —Matt Finn, Fox News, 18 Oct. 2024

Shares sold off further last month as the end of the lockup period approached, allowing company insiders to sell their shares. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2024

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