cage

1 of 2

noun

ˈkāj 

1

: a box or enclosure having some openwork for confining or carrying animals (such as birds)

2

a

: a barred cell for confining prisoners

b

: a fenced area for prisoners of war

3

: a framework serving as support

the steel cage of a skyscraper

4

a

: an enclosure resembling a cage in form or purpose

a cashier's cage

b

: an arrangement of atoms or molecules so bonded as to enclose a space in which another atom or ion (as of a metal) can reside

5

a

: batting cage

b

: a goal consisting of posts or a frame with a net attached (as in ice hockey)

6

: a large building containing an area for practicing outdoor sports and often adapted for indoor events

cageful

ˈkāj-ˌfu̇l 

noun

cage

2 of 2

verb

caged; caging

transitive verb

1

: to confine or keep in or as if in a cage

2

: to drive (a puck, a shot, etc.) into a cage and score a goal

Synonyms

Noun

• coop
• corral
• hutch
• pen
• pound

Verb

• box (in)
• closet
• coop (up)
• corral
• encage
• encase
• enclose
• inclose
• envelop
• fence (in)
• hedge
• hem (in)
• house
• immure
• include
• mew (up)
• pen
• wall (in)

Examples of cage in a Sentence

Noun

the dogs and cats at the animal shelter looked so sad in their cages

Verb

caged the rabbit at night so she wouldn't wake everyone up

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The officer reportedly saw items inside the vehicle that didn’t belong to him before noticing a body stuck between the SUV’s backseat cage area and cargo hold. —Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 23 Dec. 2024

Police say that while the young child was locked in the dog cage, constrained by zip ties, the woman kicked her and duct taped her mouth shut, according to court documents viewed by PEOPLE. —Luke Chinman, People.com, 23 Dec. 2024

Verb

These people are caged—not in their homes, and not in the underground cells of Venezuela’s notorious prisons, but in a gated villa shaded by palm trees. —Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 21 Dec. 2024

But the symbolism goes even further with Apollo’s centipede necklace, which Anderson says almost looks caged in by the fish-net shirt. —Anna Tingley, Variety, 4 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin cavea "enclosure for poultry, cage, auditorium of a theater," of uncertain origin

Note: Latin cavea is usually taken to be a noun derivative of an unattested adjective *caveus, from cavus "hollow, concave" (see cave entry 1, hole entry 1), the sense "something hollow, cavity" being extended to "enclosed space" and then "enclosure"; however, -eus is normally a denominal suffix meaning "made of" (see -eous), so that the resulting sense of the derivative is not clear. Perhaps of relevance is the suffix of alveus "trough, hull, channel" (see alveolus).

Verb

derivative of cage entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cage

• batting cage
• rattle someone's cage
• rib cage
• roll cage
• squirrel cage

Kids Definition

cage

1 of 2 noun

ˈkāj 

1

: an enclosure that has large openings covered usually with wire net or bars and is used for keeping animals or birds

2

: an enclosure like a cage in form or purpose

cageful noun

cage

2 of 2 verb

caged; caging

: to put or keep in or as if in a cage

Medical Definition

cage

noun

ˈkāj 

: an arrangement of atoms or molecules so bonded as to enclose a space in which another atom or ion (as of a metal) can reside

Biographical Definition

Cage

biographical name

ˈkāj 

John Milton 1912–1992 American composer