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. retainer.
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.
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 structure
the 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
a steel framework on which guns are supported
informal to upset or anger someone
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin cavea “birdcage,” equivalent to cav(us) “hollow” + -ea, feminine of -eus adjective suffix
A cage is a structure that keeps an animal captive. If you decide to raise a tiger in your bedroom, it's best to have a sturdy cage. Cage is equally at home as a noun or verb. For instance, a batting cage is fun, but a free bird does not desire you to cage it. A cage of an elevator is great to ride to the 30th floor, but not so great if you’re riding it down into the mines and it breaks 40 feet below the earth.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As the hulking metal cage, weighing more than a tonne, was lowered from the truck and wheeled into the museum, the gathering burst into applause.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
That crate was then placed into an outer cage, in which metal springs acted as shock absorbers to protect it from bumps in the road.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Agility, an Oregon-based company whose robots are already laboring within a Plexiglas cage at an auto-parts factory, recently announced plans to go public at a valuation of $2.5 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
“He does get outside exercise in a cage, but it’s in the shade.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
He lifted the bamboo cage up to his face and peered at it for a second.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
While “Renga” can be performed alone Cage further suggests it be played along with an actual bicentennial work he wrote separately, “Apartment House 1776.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Fun fact: The movie’s director, Michael Sarnoski, loves a prickly hero: He also made “Pig,” which stars Nicolas Cage as a gruff truffle hunter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
The live-action series is based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir, telling the story of Ben Reilly - a hardened private investigator in 1930s New York, played by Nicolas Cage.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
Cage has also previously said he hopes the black and white option will engage younger people who might be less familiar with that style.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
Percy jumped up and grabbed the bottom of the hydra’s Cage.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
The center was assembled in just eight days in June last year with bunk beds, wire cages and large white tents at an abandoned airfield in the Everglades, home to a large population of alligators.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Military vehicles were decked out with antidrone jammers and protective cages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
“We’re going to have a beautiful clubhouse next year, batting cages and all that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
We added plant food and tomato cages to the cart.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Hamsters are skillful “escape artists” and once out of their cages they are very difficult to find.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
The wedding industry that’s created demand for everything from caged doves to ceiling flowers finally is turning its attention to men, reminding brides of four important words: It’s his day too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
On a workbench nearby, sea mine-shaped lamps stand on metal casts of hawk feet alongside caged bubble glass lanterns that appear as if they might burst from internal pressure.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026
In the third episode, a challenge requires half of those remaining to be caged while a partner stacks animal skulls into a tower to free them.
From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2026
It would move as a caged panther might: because it was awake, out of boredom, for the sake of movement itself, or for no reason at all, and with no awareness.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
"This generation didn't even have enough to eat growing up. Now with a little money, they have inherited the habit and custom of caging birds," he says.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
Ben Williamson, who works for PeTA, says that the new box shows that people today no longer accept “the chaining and caging of wild animals.”
From NewsForKids.net ● Apr. 23, 2024
Those include caging seedlings to protect them from hungry animals, which increases their survival odds almost five-fold, according to Erin Knight, a biological science technician at the preserve.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2024
One tomb, part of a substantial cemetery surrounding a monastery to the west of Xylotymbou village was being used for caging cats.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2024
No interest in caging the prey for later use.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
