confine

Everyday

1. To keep someone or something inside a small or closed space: «The dog was confined to the kitchen». tree →
2. To keep something within a limit and not let it spread or go beyond: «Please confine your answer to 100 words». tree →
3. Be confined to bed, a wheelchair or the house: to have to stay there because of illness or injury. tree →
4. (old) To be confined: to be in bed to give birth to a baby. tree →
5. To hold something tightly in place, such as tying hair back. tree →

In the lessons

In science and safety texts: a fire was «confined to one room», a virus «confined to one area». In school instructions: «confine your answer to the question». In stories, prisoners or animals are confined in cells or cages. Phrases: «confined to», «confine yourself to», «confined space», «confined to bed».

Examples

• The fire was confined to the kitchen and did not spread. tree →
• Grandad was confined to bed with flu for a week. tree →
• Please confine your talk to five minutes. tree →
• The tiger paced in its confined enclosure. tree →
• Cats hate being confined in a box. tree →
• Firefighters train for rescues in confined spaces. tree →
• The flooding was confined to the low part of town. tree →
• Aphrodite is also frequently represented in the act of confining her dripping locks in a knot, whilst her attendant nymphs envelop her in a gauzy veil. tree →

Note

Usually used in the passive: «be confined to». Stress on the second syllable: con-FINE. The noun «confinement» means being kept somewhere (solitary confinement in prison). «Confine» is formal; in everyday talk people say «keep in», «shut in» or «limit to».