noun
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the act of confining or the state of being confined
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the period from the onset of labour to the birth of a child
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physics another name for containment
Other Word Forms
- nonconfinement noun
- postconfinement noun
- preconfinement noun
- self-confinement noun
- semiconfinement noun
Etymology
Origin of confinement
Explanation
If you're dealing with confinement to a jail cell, or your classroom, or the broom closet, you're stuck there and you can't leave. Confinement means you're being held and you can't move freely. Confinement doesn't have to be punishment. If you've got a contagious disease, your doctor may recommend confinement to your hospital room. Puppies sometimes prefer confinement in a crate to sleeping in an open room. You may also come across an old-fashioned use of the word confinement, referring to a woman in childbirth, which goes back to when women retired to their rooms to give birth and recuperate. Confinement contains the Latin root finis, "end, limit” — confinement certainly is limiting.
Vocabulary lists containing confinement
Vocabulary from "Community is the 'killer app' missing from virtual reality" by Dmitri Williams
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"The Bet" by Anton Chekhov
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Farewell to Manzanar
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is when “Heel” is at its most alluringly queasy, a dark commentary on all families as institutions inherently built on confinement and emotional blackmail.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026
While much has been written about China’s civilian fusion energy program, less is known about its military fusion programs, which are focused on inertial confinement fusion.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026
A BOP spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the bureau does not discuss conditions of confinement or security procedures and that employee standards of conduct prohibit staff from giving any prisoners preferential treatment.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026
It was May 1999, and US Army sergeant Andrew Ramirez had been held captive for over a month by Yugoslav forces, enduring days of dark confinement and interrogations.
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026
When it came time for her to put him back, she’d sweetened his confinement by placing her last bit of sugar on his tongue.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
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.
