confine

[ kuhn-fahyn for 1, 2, 5, 6; kon-fahyn for 3, 4 ]
See synonyms for: confineconfinedconfinesconfining on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),con·fined, con·fin·ing.
  1. to enclose within bounds; limit or restrict: She confined her remarks to errors in the report. Confine your efforts to finishing the book.

  2. to shut or keep in; prevent from leaving a place because of imprisonment, illness, discipline, etc.: For that offense he was confined to quarters for 30 days.

noun
  1. Usually confines. a boundary or bound; limit; border; frontier.

  2. Often confines. region; territory.

  1. Archaic. confinement.

  2. Obsolete. a place of confinement; prison.

Origin of confine

1
1350–1400 for noun; 1515–25 for v.; (noun) Middle English <Middle French confins, confines<Medieval Latin confinia, plural of Latin confinis boundary, border (see con-, fine2); (v.) <Middle French confiner, verbal derivative of confins<Latin, as above

Other words for confine

Opposites for confine

Other words from confine

  • con·fin·a·ble, con·fine·a·ble, adjective
  • con·fine·less, adjective
  • con·fin·er, noun
  • non·con·fin·ing, adjective
  • pre·con·fine, verb (used with object), pre·con·fined, pre·con·fin·ing.
  • qua·si-con·fin·ing, adjective
  • re·con·fine, verb (used with object), re·con·fined, re·con·fin·ing.
  • self-con·fin·ing, adjective
  • un·con·fin·a·ble, adjective
  • un·con·fin·ing, adjective

Words Nearby confine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use confine in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for confine

confine

verb(kənˈfaɪn) (tr)
  1. to keep or close within bounds; limit; restrict

  2. to keep shut in; restrict the free movement of: arthritis confined him to bed

noun(ˈkɒnfaɪn)
  1. (often plural) a limit; boundary

Origin of confine

1
C16: from Medieval Latin confīnāre from Latin confīnis adjacent, from fīnis end, boundary

Derived forms of confine

  • confinable or confineable, adjective
  • confineless, adjective
  • confiner, noun

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