confinement

American  

[kuhn-fahyn-muhnt] / kənˈfaɪn mənt /

noun

confinements plural

1. the act of confining.

2. the state of being confined.

3. the lying-in of a woman in childbed; accouchement; childbirth.

4. Military. incarceration in a guardhouse or prison while awaiting trial or as a punishment (distinguished from arrest).

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confinement British  

/ kənˈfaɪnmənt /

noun

1. the act of confining or the state of being confined

2. the period from the onset of labour to the birth of a child

3. physics another name for containment

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonconfinement
  noun
• postconfinement
  noun
• preconfinement
  noun
• self-confinement
  noun
• semiconfinement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• confinements
  plural

Etymology

Origin of confinement

1640–50; confine + -ment; compare French 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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

confinement confinements

One monitor will focus on the systems for medical care and disability accommodations and the other on the conditions of confinement, according to the order.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

Beyond the threat of AI, Cuesta connects this newfound popularity of manual trades to the pandemic and long periods of confinement.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

This showed that the increased reactivity comes primarily from pressure itself rather than confinement alone.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026

They faced freezing temperatures, gusts of wind and the daunting task of fighting fire with ice at the site of the largest civilian nuclear disaster in history without further damaging the confinement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

When I met Trina, Ian, and Antonio years later, they had each been broken by years of hopeless confinement.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Armani took away the restrictions and confinements of stiffer styles that went before him - making men feel sophisticated and women empowered in the workplace.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025

Given the typically short confinements in the juvenile system, they added, how could that have any greater effect?

From Washington Post ● Feb. 22, 2022

He told reporters confinements and other consequences of surging infection numbers were worrying, but "should not lead to an increase in inflation, on the contrary".

From Reuters ● Dec. 20, 2021

A loan reserved for exhibits at several museums may get caught in confinements, making it tricky to deliver the promised artwork, he said.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2021

Mother had her first half-dozen babies at home, instead of in hospitals, because she liked to run the house and help Dad with his work, even during the confinements.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Related Words

• custody
• detention
• incarceration
• internment
• jail
• repression