confinement

American  

[kuhn-fahyn-muhnt] / kənˈfaɪn mənt /

noun

• confinements
  plural

1. the act of confining.

2. the state of being confined.

3. the lying-in of a woman in childbed; accouchement; childbirth.

4. Military. incarceration in a guardhouse or prison while awaiting trial or as a punishment (distinguished from arrest).

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confinement British  

/ kənˈfaɪnmənt /

noun

1. the act of confining or the state of being confined

2. the period from the onset of labour to the birth of a child

3. physics another name for containment

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonconfinement
  noun
• postconfinement
  noun
• preconfinement
  noun
• self-confinement
  noun
• semiconfinement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• confinements
  plural

Etymology

Origin of confinement

1640–50; confine + -ment; compare French confinement

Explanation

If you're dealing with confinement to a jail cell, or your classroom, or the broom closet, you're stuck there and you can't leave. Confinement means you're being held and you can't move freely. Confinement doesn't have to be punishment. If you've got a contagious disease, your doctor may recommend confinement to your hospital room. Puppies sometimes prefer confinement in a crate to sleeping in an open room. You may also come across an old-fashioned use of the word confinement, referring to a woman in childbirth, which goes back to when women retired to their rooms to give birth and recuperate. Confinement contains the Latin root finis, "end, limit” — confinement certainly is limiting.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

confinement confinements

He faces a maximum term of life in confinement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

The judge erred in finding there was a substantial chance Patterson would be held in solitary confinement for years to come, and this "infected" his decision, the prosecution argued.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

But crucially, the text does not specify what will become of Ocalan, 77, who has spent the past 27 years being held in solitary confinement on Imrali prison island near Istanbul.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

But as my confinement continued, even through my longing to be home, I felt an indisputable change that could only be tied to the lack of a smartphone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

“I see by her shape that indeed her confinement is imminent,” he says, frowning thoughtfully.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Armani took away the restrictions and confinements of stiffer styles that went before him - making men feel sophisticated and women empowered in the workplace.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025

"We have just had two years of pandemic with confinements which put our activity to a halt ... now tourists are returning and new booksellers are settling in."

From Reuters ● Aug. 19, 2022

Given the typically short confinements in the juvenile system, they added, how could that have any greater effect?

From Washington Post ● Feb. 22, 2022

A loan reserved for exhibits at several museums may get caught in confinements, making it tricky to deliver the promised artwork, he said.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2021

Mother had her first half-dozen babies at home, instead of in hospitals, because she liked to run the house and help Dad with his work, even during the confinements.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Related Words

• custody
• detention
• incarceration
• internment
• jail
• repression