cage

[ keyj ]

/ keɪdʒ /

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.

Nearby words

café-au-lait spot, cag, cag-handed, caganer, cagayan de oro, cage, cage bird, cage fighting, cage zone melting, cage, john, caged

Origin of cage

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

SYNONYMS FOR cage

1 pen, coop, enclosure, pound.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cage ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

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

Definition for cage (2 of 2)

Cage

[ keyj ]

/ keɪdʒ /

noun

John,1912–1992, U.S. composer.

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
The cage containing the odalisk is raised on a hoisting rope so that it hangs in midair with the doors open.
Magic, Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions Including Trick Photography|Albert A. Hopkins
"Jacot," spoke Madelaine, in a low voice, as she raised a corner of the handkerchief which covered the cage.
The Young Emigrants; Madelaine Tube; The Boy and the Book; and Crystal Palace|Susan Anne Livingston Ridley Sedgwick
It was all done in a second; the chandelier fell, the cage opened, and the lioness sprang out.
Peter Simple|Frederick Marryat
Carry home this fearsome green mummy on the leaf; put him in a cage made of wire screen, and watch him.
Trees Every Child Should Know|Julia Ellen Rogers
"In a little while he will get tame so he will follow us around," said Ole, as he cut the wooden bars for the cage.
Mari, Our Little Norwegian Cousin|Mary Hazelton Wade

British Dictionary definitions for cage (1 of 2)

cage

/ (keɪdʒ) /

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

British Dictionary definitions for cage (2 of 2)

Cage

/ (keɪdʒ) /

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

cage

noun

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

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Nearby words

Origin of cage

SYNONYMS FOR cage

Related forms

Definition for cage (2 of 2)

Cage

noun

Examples from the Web for cage

British Dictionary definitions for cage (1 of 2)

cage

noun

verb

Word Origin for cage

British Dictionary definitions for cage (2 of 2)

Cage

noun