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
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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
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Recent Examples of lock (up)
Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 25 Feb. 2025
Immigration officials hold around 40,000 detainees in private prisons and local county lockups across the United States.
—Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2025
Prosecutors hammered him for breaking rules in jail, saying if Combs can’t be trusted in lockup, then he certainly can’t be trusted out on bail — no matter what measures were taken to keep the rapper in check.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
In response, prison agency officials emailed staff at other facilities in search of volunteers from across the country willing to work at the rural New England lockup.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Noun
Inmates at Collins Correctional Facility, one of the places where the strike started, were being bussed to other lockups.
—Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 25 Feb. 2025
Immigration officials hold around 40,000 detainees in private prisons and local county lockups across the United States.
—Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2025
Prosecutors hammered him for breaking rules in jail, saying if Combs can’t be trusted in lockup, then he certainly can’t be trusted out on bail — no matter what measures were taken to keep the rapper in check.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
In response, prison agency officials emailed staff at other facilities in search of volunteers from across the country willing to work at the rural New England lockup.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
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What happened to the Hollywood Ten, a group of producers, directors and screenwriters who were jailed and blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947?—
Sara Georgini,
Smithsonian Magazine,
1 Apr. 2025
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Its focus is instead on two women who share little in common but the fact that their husbands are both jailed in the same facility.—
Manuel Betancourt,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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He's scored early victories in getting Latin American countries to cooperate on deportation flights, including a high-profile prison deal with El Salvador.—
Dave Lawler,
Axios,
1 Apr. 2025
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Sign up for the 12:30 Report newsletter That includes a recent ruling from U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg temporarily blocking the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador.—
Rebecca Beitsch,
The Hill,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The gang started as an organizing structure for men imprisoned during a period of mass incarceration that began under former President Hugo Chavez, Hanson told USA TODAY.—
Will Carless,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2025
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Several of them, including Hegseth, owe their careers to calling for Hillary Clinton to be imprisoned because she too mixed private messages and government business.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The money will help sustain El Salvador’s penitentiary system, which currently costs $200 million a year.—
Michael Rios,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2025
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In Oklahoma, 56-year-old Wendell Grissom was declared dead by lethal injection at the penitentiary in McAlester at 10:13 a.m.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.
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