confine
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
-
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
noun
-
Usually confines. a boundary or bound; limit; border; frontier.
-
Often confines. region; territory.
-
Archaic. confinement.
-
Obsolete. a place of confinement; prison.
verb
-
to keep or close within bounds; limit; restrict
-
to keep shut in; restrict the free movement of
arthritis confined him to bed
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
confinernoun
-
preconfineverb (used with object)
-
reconfineverb (used with object)
-
confinableadjective
-
confineableadjective
-
confinelessadjective
-
nonconfiningadjective
-
quasi-confiningadjective
-
self-confiningadjective
-
unconfinableadjective
-
unconfiningadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
confinesimple
-
confinessimple
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have confinedperfect
-
has confinedperfect
-
am confiningprogressive
-
are confiningprogressive
-
is confiningprogressive
-
have been confiningperfect progressive
-
has been confiningperfect progressive
Past
-
confinedsimple
-
had confinedperfect
-
was confiningprogressive
-
were confiningprogressive
-
had been confiningperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing confine
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Bridge to Terabithia
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Marbury v. Madison (1803)
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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.
See Examples For:
He never wanted to confine himself to the romantic guidelines that so often affected his straight friends.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Photonic chips confine light to extremely small waveguides, causing light to interact strongly with itself.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2026
The Dodgers have said closer Edwin Díaz is expected to return from elbow surgery sometime after the All-Star break, which would confine that time frame to two weeks, if that.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
"There's nobody out here to watch over you or help you or confine you. You're kind of on your own," Glaser said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026
“Obviously those who can’t confine themselves to a particular way of thinking would be most likely to leave a faction or fail its initiation, right?”
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
How did you approach pacing your performance in the confines of a single day at work?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Arthur Fery grew up just a short walk away from Wimbledon but there is much more to his story than simply the confines of SW19.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
The team created the device using a two-dimensional crystal that confines electrons to a channel only a few atoms wide.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026
One of the greatest lessons of adulthood took place in the quiet confines of my apartment kitchen.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026
At the time of my arrival, Francis’ theories spread far beyond the confines of protein crystallography.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Most humanoid robots are currently used for industrial applications in confined spaces, such as automobile factories or storage warehouses.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
A month after prosecutors filed the rape charges, Mr. Carroll was transferred to Salinas Valley State Prison, a men’s penitentiary, where he is still confined.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The cycling programme, which previously included mountain biking and road races, will be confined to the track.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Though he ended the set in a cage from “Wild One” to “Mass Production,” it’s clear that he’ll never be confined and that should give us all a bit of extra hope for ourselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
A strange energy shadowed the corners of the room; the air seemed to circle on itself, confined by the narrow walls.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
Using this concept, the team designed and experimentally demonstrated a three dimensional singular dielectric resonator capable of confining light below the diffraction limit in all three spatial dimensions.
From Science Daily ● May 21, 2026
In light of the academic fascination with diversity, Matthew Avery Sutton’s “Chosen Land” is noteworthy for confining its attention to Christianity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
Oh, and there’s a giant hole in the ceiling of her apartment, confining her to a hotel room while her landlord drags his feet to get it fixed.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2025
Vance has now insisted he was talking about other, unnamed countries - confining the diplomatic fallout for the time being.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2025
It’s a very handsome bangle, really, but the movement makes it seem like something confining, a shackle, rather than a piece of jewelry.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
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.
