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)
Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Jan. 2025
The Brooklyn jail is the city’s only federal lockup and previously held high-profile inmates like Sam Bankman-Fried, Ghislaine Maxwell and R. Kelly.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2025
Per the outlet, at least 645 defendants were sentenced to periods ranging from a few days to 22 years in federal lockup, with 250 people currently in custody.
—Nicholas Rice, People.com, 8 Dec. 2024
Trump and other company insiders were barred from selling their shares until Sept. 19, when a lockup agreement expired.
—Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Noun
Other individuals who worked to influence Trump and his Justice Department on Low’s behalf aren’t looking at decades in federal lockup.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Jan. 2025
The Brooklyn jail is the city’s only federal lockup and previously held high-profile inmates like Sam Bankman-Fried, Ghislaine Maxwell and R. Kelly.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2025
Per the outlet, at least 645 defendants were sentenced to periods ranging from a few days to 22 years in federal lockup, with 250 people currently in custody.
—Nicholas Rice, People.com, 8 Dec. 2024
Trump and other company insiders were barred from selling their shares until Sept. 19, when a lockup agreement expired.
—Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lock (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock (up)
Verb
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His reign didn’t last long — he was jailed by Mexican authorities in February 2019.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
24 Feb. 2025
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In 2021, former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. vacated the convictions of two of the men jailed for Malcolm X’s murder, Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam, after a nearly two-year investigation unearthed fresh evidence of witness intimidation and suppression of evidence.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA TODAY,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In 2018, President Trump commuted the prison sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who had served 22 years for drug trafficking and money laundering charges.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
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An Indiana man has been sentenced to 105 years in prison for the 2022 fatal shooting of a Dutch soldier and wounding of two others in downtown Indianapolis.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In the movie, Isaiah is framed for an attack on the president, and a throng of police officers chase him across White House grounds and eventually imprison him.—
Maya Phillips,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2025
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Our Spacious Skies Isle of Infamy John J. Miller On the remote Dry Tortugas, Dr. Samuel Mudd was imprisoned for the crime of aiding Lincoln’s assassin.—
George Weigel,
National Review,
20 Feb. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Lock (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20%28up%29. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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