confine

American  

[kuhn-fahyn, kon-fahyn] / kənˈfaɪn, ˈkɒn faɪn /

verb (used with object)

confined, confining

1. to enclose within bounds; limit or restrict.

   She confined her remarks to errors in the report. Confine your efforts to finishing the book.

   Synonyms:

   circumscribe

   Antonyms:

   free

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.

   Antonyms:

   free

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noun

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

2. Often confines. region; territory.

3. Archaic. confinement.

4. Obsolete. a place of confinement; prison.

confine British  

verb

1. to keep or close within bounds; limit; restrict

2. to keep shut in; restrict the free movement of

   arthritis confined him to bed

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noun

1. (often plural) a limit; boundary

Other Word Forms

• confinable adjective
• confineable adjective
• confineless adjective
• confiner noun
• nonconfining adjective
• preconfine verb (used with object)
• quasi-confining adjective
• reconfine verb (used with object)
• self-confining adjective
• unconfinable adjective
• unconfining adjective

Etymology

Origin of confine

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-, fine ²); (v.) < Middle French confiner, verbal derivative of confins < Latin, as above

Explanation

Confine is all about setting limits. If you are confined to the house, it means you can't leave it. If you're really sick, you might be confined to your bed. Confine can be used abstractly as well. In writing a term paper, your teacher might tell you to confine your examples to ones that you can support with direct evidence. In the 19th century, pregnancy and childbirth were often referred to as a woman's confinement—a time when she couldn't get up or out.

Example Sentences

"The inspiration came from systems known from atomic physics, where electrons can occupy different energy states. In photonics, a similar role is played by optical traps, which confine light instead of electrons."

From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2026

The harsh environment would confine people to domes or underground shelters, where boredom and isolation would be real dangers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

Furthermore, we’re going to confine those categories very narrowly.

From Slate • Jan. 26, 2026

The best hope for the Fed, then, is to get inflation low and confine annual price increases to a stable and narrow range.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 23, 2026

“From 10 to 12 and 2 to 4 six days in the week, I shall confine myself to my old medical works and other college studies including stenography, French and German.”

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• constrain
• detain
• hinder
• imprison
• incarcerate
• jail
• restrain
• restrict