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

Trump will be able to offload his roughly 60% stake in the company on Thursday following the expiration of a lockup period, which prevents some shareholders of freshly public companies—such as those who own 5% or more of shares or who serve in high-level management roles—from selling their shares. —Ty Roush, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2024

The lockup period for Trump, who owns about 57% of TMTG and is its largest stakeholder, will expire on Sept. 25 at the latest. —Bypaolo Confino, Fortune, 18 Sep. 2024

After authorities secretly moved the prisoners from the jail and sent them to another lockup about 60 miles away, the mob took out their anger on the city’s Black population. —Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2024

As a result, the only time McCrary spent in lockup related to the Santa Monica robbery was five days in county jail following his arrest. —Sean Emery, Orange County Register, 1 Aug. 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