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cage

[keyj]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cage ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a boxlike enclosure having wires, bars, or the like, for confining and displaying birds or animals.

anything that confines or imprisons; prison.

something resembling a cage in structure, as for a cashier or bank teller.

the car or enclosed platform of an elevator.

Mining. an enclosed platform for raising and lowering people and cars in a mine shaft.

any skeleton framework.

Baseball. a movable backstop for use mainly in batting practice.

a frame with a net attached to it, forming the goal in ice hockey and field hockey.

Basketball Older Use. the basket.

a loose, sheer or lacy overdress worn with a slip or a close-fitting dress.

Ordnance. a steel framework for supporting guns.

Machinery. retainer¹(def 3).

verb (used with object), caged, cag·ing.

to put or confine in or as if in a cage.

Sports. to shoot (as a puck) into a cage so as to score a goal.

Origin of cage

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French < Latin cavea birdcage, equivalent to cav(us) hollow + -ea, feminine of -eus adj. suffix

Related formscage·less, adjectivecage·like, adjectivere·cage, verb (used with object), re·caged, re·cag·ing.

Synonyms for cage

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cage ON THESAURUS.COM

1. pen, coop, enclosure, pound.

Cage

[keyj]

noun

John,1912–1992, U.S. composer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cage

crate, pen, jail, enclosure, coop, corral, fold, mew, pound, pinfold, incarcerate, hem, envelop, immure, enclose, imprison, restrain, confine, impound

Examples from the Web for cage

Contemporary Examples of cage

But you wonder how even the sane keep from losing their minds when you step into a cell—or rather a cage—at Graterford.
Here’s a Reform Even the Koch Brothers and George Soros Can Agree On
Tina Brown
November 10, 2014
It is empty, the door swung open—perhaps the bird has already flown, or perhaps the cage awaits its next inhabitant.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun
Katie Baker
November 8, 2014
When I first heard about the sport, I assumed that it was a “no holds barred” cage match where pretty much anything goes.
Jesus Said Knock You Out: In ‘Fight Church’ Christians Beat Thy Neighbor
Bryan Storkel
September 16, 2014
Two men, literally in a cage, were attacking each other while the pastor and his friends cheered.
Jesus Said Knock You Out: In ‘Fight Church’ Christians Beat Thy Neighbor
Bryan Storkel
September 16, 2014
Everything in the cage will be programmed from moment to moment.
A ‘Truman Show’ For Today: The Return of Josh Harris
Anthony Haden-Guest
July 11, 2014

Historical Examples of cage

After the incident of the birds and cage, my sagacity was for some time at fault.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
Stevie prowled round the table like an excited animal in a cage.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
I opened the door of his cage and, snatching the puppy, fled.
A Woman Tenderfoot
Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
Squirrels shouldn't swim, and if I can catch it I will put it in a cage.
Fair Margaret
H. Rider Haggard
He paced the chamber like a beast in a cage, hissing out the words in his anger.
Casanova's Homecoming
Arthur Schnitzler

British Dictionary definitions for cage

cage

noun

an enclosure, usually made with bars or wire, for keeping birds, monkeys, mice, etc
(as modifier)cagebird

a thing or place that confines or imprisons

something resembling a cage in function or structurethe rib cage

the enclosed platform of a lift, esp as used in a mine

engineering a skeleton ring device that ensures that the correct amount of space is maintained between the individual rollers or balls in a rolling bearing

informal the basket used in basketball

informal the goal in ice hockey

US a steel framework on which guns are supported

rattle someone's cage informal to upset or anger someone

verb

(tr) to confine in or as in a cage

Word Origin for cage

C13: from Old French, from Latin cavea enclosure, from cavus hollow

Cage

noun

John. 1912–92, US composer of experimental music for a variety of conventional, modified, or invented instruments. He evolved a type of music apparently undetermined by the composer, such as in Imaginary Landscape (1951) for 12 radio sets. Other works include Reunion (1968), Apartment Building 1776 (1976), and Europeras 3 and 4 (1990)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cage

n.

early 13c., from Old French cage "cage, prison; retreat, hideout" (12c.), from Latin cavea "hollow place, enclosure for animals, coop, hive, stall, dungeon, spectators' seats in the theater" (cf. Italian gabbia "basket for fowls, coop;" see cave (n.)).

v.

1570s, from cage (n.). Related: Caged; caging.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper