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

In solitary confinement, prisoners cannot mix and meals are delivered via a small opening in the cell door.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

But crucially, the text does not specify what will become of Ocalan, 77, who has spent the past 27 years being held in solitary confinement on Imrali prison island near Istanbul.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

It may affect both the chiral transition and the transition associated with quark confinement.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

Prison staff reportedly separated the two men and Combs was placed in solitary confinement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

These documents did answer one question: the reason for solitary confinement.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

He added the trust had recruited 75 nurses and healthcare support workers since the report was written, improved training, communication with deaf patients and reduced daytime confinements.

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2024

“We are compelled to ask for the public’s help for these cats, who have endured long confinements and neglect, and deserve a second chance at a fulfilling life.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2024

And Rikers is not a normal jail — a place of brief confinements pending trials and sentencings.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2023

Pressed by animal welfare and consumer groups, many food and restaurant companies already have committed to phasing out small confinements for pigs and to buying or producing cage-free eggs.

From Reuters ● Oct. 10, 2022

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