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
Relevance
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lock (up)
Ece Yildirim, CNBC, 13 Jan. 2025
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, 11 Jan. 2025
As noted by the IRS, under the user agreement, the rewards were periodically deposited to the taxpayer’s account (following any applicable lockup or waiting period).
—Timothy M. Todd, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Shares in Truth Social have hovered around $14 in the week following the expiration of the company's lockup provision, which prevented Trump and other early investors from selling any of their shares for the six months following the company's public offering.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lock (up) 
Noun
That was days after the end of a lockup period that had barred company insiders from selling their stakes for six months following Trump Media’s merger with a special purpose acquisition company that led to public trading of DJT shares.
—Ece Yildirim, CNBC, 13 Jan. 2025
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, 11 Jan. 2025
As noted by the IRS, under the user agreement, the rewards were periodically deposited to the taxpayer’s account (following any applicable lockup or waiting period).
—Timothy M. Todd, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Shares in Truth Social have hovered around $14 in the week following the expiration of the company's lockup provision, which prevented Trump and other early investors from selling any of their shares for the six months following the company's public offering.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
-
The plaintiffs were held longer than they normally would have been jailed because Immigration and Customs Enforcement had lodged detainer requests.—
Michael Ruiz,
Fox News,
8 Feb. 2025
-
The three men, captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, are set to be freed Saturday, in the fifth exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel.—
Julia Frankel,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Kolfage and two other men charged in that case, who did not receive pardons, were all convicted and sentenced to three or more years in prison.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2025
-
The rapper was later arrested and charged with two counts of felony assault and is facing up to 24 years in prison if convicted.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Five people were later imprisoned for his murder, with prosecutors accusing two of them of being members of the notorious Los Lobos gang.—
Max Saltman,
CNN,
8 Feb. 2025
-
Free imprisoned insurrectionists who violently assaulted Capitol police officers while attempting to forcefully prevent the constitutional transfer of power.—
Dan Greene,
The New Yorker,
6 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Lamberth also noted that there are only about 16 transgender women housed in female penitentiaries, including the three plaintiffs who sued.—
Anders Fogh Rasmussen,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
-
In 2015, Ulbricht was handed a life sentence for his involvement in the enterprise and is currently incarcerated at a high-security penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona.—
Kristen Waggoner,
Newsweek,
21 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near lock (up)
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share