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Synonyms

fence in

Idioms  

  1. Also, hem in. Restrict or confine someone, as in He wanted to take on more assignments but was fenced in by his contract, or Their father was old-fashioned and the children were hemmed in by his rules. Both expressions transfer a literal form of enclosure to a figurative one. The first gained currency from a popular song in the style of a cowboy folk song by Cole Porter, “Don't Fence Me In” (1944), in which the cowboy celebrates open land and starry skies. The variant is much older, dating from the late 1500s.

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.

Chesterton’s parable: If you stumble on a fence in the middle of the road, don’t take it down until you know why it’s there.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

In December 2018, protesters tore down a fence in the Tuileries gardens next to the Louvre.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 22, 2025

Ahead of his speech, Netanyahu's office ordered that the Israeli military mount loudspeakers on trucks near the Gaza perimeter fence in order to broadcast his words live across the territory.

From BBC • Sep. 26, 2025

In the picture, Cyrus dons a pair of green bunny ears and gives Hurley a kiss on the cheek as they lean against a wooden fence in a lush pasture.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2025

Bill went on to say that he didn’t want a fence in the living room.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

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.