cage

¹ American  

[keyj] / keɪdʒ /

noun

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

   Synonyms:

   pound, enclosure, coop, pen

2. anything that confines or imprisons; prison.

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

4. the car or enclosed platform of an elevator.

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

6. any skeleton framework.

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

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

9. Basketball: Older Use. the basket.

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

11. Ordnance. a steel framework for supporting guns.

12. Machinery. retainer.

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verb (used with object)

caged, caging

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

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

Cage ² American  

[keyj] / keɪdʒ /

noun

1. John, 1912–1992, U.S. composer.

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cage ¹ British  

/ keɪdʒ /

noun

1. 1. an enclosure, usually made with bars or wire, for keeping birds, monkeys, mice, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      cagebird

2. a thing or place that confines or imprisons

3. something resembling a cage in function or structure

   the rib cage

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

5. 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

6. informal the basket used in basketball

7. informal the goal in ice hockey

8. a steel framework on which guns are supported

9. informal to upset or anger someone

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verb

1. (tr) to confine in or as in a cage

Cage ² British  

/ keɪdʒ /

noun

1. 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)

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Other Word Forms

• cageless adjective
• cagelike adjective
• recage verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of cage

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

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

"I think he's trying to organize a cage match, me versus Eric and Don Jr. I told him I'd do it -- 100 percent in, if he can pull it off," Biden said.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Their findings, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, highlight the use of a nano-sized molecular cage designed to act as a highly selective 'PFAS trap'.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2026

As we walk around the site, each cage has a large, coloured sign attached.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

In Colorado, a machine the size of a small car holds single atoms suspended in an electromagnetic cage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

The cage protected Pelicarnassus, mostly, but they heard him yell “My feathers!” and saw that he’d been singed.

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

Related Words

• crate
• enclosure
• jail
• pen