fence in

1. Also, hem in. Restrict or confine someone, as in He wanted to take on more assignments but was fenced in by his contract, or Their father was old-fashioned and the children were hemmed in by his rules. Both expressions transfer a literal form of enclosure to a figurative one. The first gained currency from a popular song in the style of a cowboy folk song by Cole Porter, “Don't Fence Me In” (1944), in which the cowboy celebrates open land and starry skies. The variant is much older, dating from the late 1500s.

Example Sentences

Mr. Simon’s record was also one of the first to grasp the mid-’70s ennui of a generation fenced in by marital responsibilities and yearning for its earlier, wilder self.

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In December 2018, protesters tore down a fence in the Tuileries gardens next to the Louvre.

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She added there had been no changes to the building's structure and the only external changes were to install security fencing in response to the protests.

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Ahead of his speech, Netanyahu's office ordered that the Israeli military mount loudspeakers on trucks near the Gaza perimeter fence in order to broadcast his words live across the territory.

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The three climbed out of a bathroom window, scaled a fence in the backyard and banged on the window of a neighbor who called 911.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• apprehend 
• commit 
• detain 
• hold 
• incarcerate 
• jail 
• lock up 
• remand