cage

¹

[ keyj ]

noun

1. a boxlike enclosure having wires, bars, or the like, for confining and displaying birds or animals.

   Synonyms: pound, enclosure, coop, pen

2. anything that confines or imprisons; prison.
3. something resembling a cage in structure, as for a cashier or bank teller.
4. the car or enclosed platform of an elevator.
5. Mining. an enclosed platform for raising and lowering people and cars in a mine shaft.
6. any skeleton framework.
7. Baseball. a movable backstop for use mainly in batting practice.
8. a frame with a net attached to it, forming the goal in ice hockey and field hockey.
9. Basketball: Older Use. the basket.
10. a loose, sheer or lacy overdress worn with a slip or a close-fitting dress.
11. Ordnance. a steel framework for supporting guns.
12. Machinery. retainer ¹( def 3 ).

verb (used with object)

, caged, cag·ing.

1. to put or confine in or as if in a cage.
2. Sports. to shoot (as a puck) into a cage so as to score a goal.

Cage

²

[ keyj ]

noun

1. John, 1912–1992, U.S. composer.

cage

¹

/ keɪdʒ /

noun

1. 1. an enclosure, usually made with bars or wire, for keeping birds, monkeys, mice, etc
   2. ( as modifier )

      cagebird

2. a thing or place that confines or imprisons
3. something resembling a cage in function or structure

   the rib cage

4. the enclosed platform of a lift, esp as used in a mine
5. engineering a skeleton ring device that ensures that the correct amount of space is maintained between the individual rollers or balls in a rolling bearing
6. informal.
   the basket used in basketball
7. informal.
   the goal in ice hockey
8. a steel framework on which guns are supported
9. rattle someone's cage informal.
   to upset or anger someone

verb

1. tr to confine in or as in a cage

Cage

²

/ keɪdʒ /

noun

1. CageJohn19121992MUSMUSIC: composer of experimental music John. 1912–92, US composer of experimental music for a variety of conventional, modified, or invented instruments. He evolved a type of music apparently undetermined by the composer, such as in Imaginary Landscape (1951) for 12 radio sets. Other works include Reunion (1968), Apartment Building 1776 (1976), and Europeras 3 and 4 (1990)

Other Words From

• cageless adjective
• cagelike adjective
• re·cage verb (used with object) recaged recaging

Word History and Origins

Origin of cage¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin cavea “birdcage,” equivalent to cav(us) “hollow” + -ea, feminine of -eus adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of cage¹

C13: from Old French, from Latin cavea enclosure, from cavus hollow

Example Sentences

With Miocic backed up against the cage, Jones unleashed a crushing spinning back kick to the body which dropped the challenger, before the referee stepped in to end the contest.

From BBC

The sounds of Herbert’s bat in the cage made Manley cower behind the pitching screen.

From Los Angeles Times

I got some of that but I also got, at a very key moment, women in cages.

From Los Angeles Times

In Los Angeles, where getting across town can seem like a cage battle, the vehicles’ limits on freeway driving could pose a hurdle, making trips longer and more costly.

From Los Angeles Times

In 2023, he said with unbridled glee on the "Benny Show" that mass deportations and "putting kids in cages" would be "glorious."

From Salon

Related Words

• coop up