confine

American  

[kuhn-fahyn, kon-fahyn] / kənˈfaɪn, ˈkɒn faɪn /

verb (used with object)

confined, confining

1. 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

2. 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

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noun

1. Usually confines. a boundary or bound; limit; border; frontier.

2. Often confines. region; territory.

3. Archaic. confinement.

4. Obsolete. a place of confinement; prison.

confine British  

verb

1. to keep or close within bounds; limit; restrict

2. to keep shut in; restrict the free movement of

   arthritis confined him to bed

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noun

1. (often plural) a limit; boundary

Other Word Forms

• confinable adjective
• confineable adjective
• confineless adjective
• confiner noun
• nonconfining adjective
• preconfine verb (used with object)
• quasi-confining adjective
• reconfine verb (used with object)
• self-confining adjective
• unconfinable adjective
• unconfining adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Reducing their size caused them to lose their ability to confine light.

From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 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

Until this week, it seemed that to avoid even the appearance of repeating the war in Iraq, the U.S. would confine its operation to air and naval actions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

Furthermore, we’re going to confine those categories very narrowly.

From Slate • Jan. 26, 2026

Will you confine yourself to answering my questions.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• constrain
• detain
• hinder
• imprison
• incarcerate
• jail
• restrain
• restrict