cage
- 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).
- 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
Synonyms for cage
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comCage
- John,1912–1992, U.S. composer.
Related Words for cage
crate, pen, jail, enclosure, coop, corral, fold, mew, pound, pinfold, incarcerate, hem, envelop, immure, enclose, imprison, restrain, confine, impoundExamples 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.
It is empty, the door swung open—perhaps the bird has already flown, or perhaps the cage awaits its next inhabitant.
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 NeighborBryan 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 NeighborBryan Storkel
September 16, 2014
Everything in the cage will be programmed from moment to moment.
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 AgentJoseph Conrad
I opened the door of his cage and, snatching the puppy, fled.
A Woman TenderfootGrace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
Squirrels shouldn't swim, and if I can catch it I will put it in a cage.
Fair MargaretH. Rider Haggard
He paced the chamber like a beast in a cage, hissing out the words in his anger.
Casanova's HomecomingArthur Schnitzler
cage
- 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
- (tr) to confine in or as in a cage
Word Origin for cage
Cage
- 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)
Word Origin and History for cage
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.)).
1570s, from cage (n.). Related: Caged; caging.