pinfold
Americannoun
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a pound for stray animals.
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a fold, as for sheep or cattle.
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a place of confinement or restraint.
verb (used with object)
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012verb
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Etymology
Origin of pinfold
1150–1200; late Middle English pynfold for *pindfold, equivalent to Old English pynd ( an ) to impound (derivative of pund pound 3 ) + fold 2; replacing Middle English po ( u ) n ( d ) fold ( e ), late Old English pundfald
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.
For then she must think of the cow’s fodder and of the herdsman’s hire, flatter the heyward, defend herself when her cattle is shut up in the pinfold and moreover pay the damage.
From Project Gutenberg
They hunted, an' they hollo'd, an' the next thing they did find Was a bull-calf in a pinfold, an' that too they left behind.
From Project Gutenberg
And, as to Cromwell, the people's shepherd has need to keep good count and careful watch; for wolves and foxes in sheep's clothing break into the pinfolds, kill and devour.
From Project Gutenberg
He was a servant of corruption, holding a candle to disorderly walkers and happy sinners on their way into the devil's pinfold.
From Project Gutenberg
Then the bush was driven down into the opening; and all that it was necessary to do, was to dip into the pinfold and take out great handfuls of fish.
From Project Gutenberg
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.