noun
cage
kayj
noun
1
A structure of bars or mesh used to enclose and contain an animal or person.
"The parrot paced back and forth inside its cage."
"Prisoners in the old jail were kept in iron cages."
verb
1
To shut something or someone inside a cage.
"They caged the injured hawk until it healed."
2
To trap or hold back a person's freedom or creativity, often figuratively.
"She felt caged by the strict rules of her new job."
How to Use Cage
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA barred enclosure for keeping something in, or (as a verb) to trap someone inside one, literally or figuratively.
Common pairings
put in a cage
caged animal
feel caged in
birdcage
Word Forms
caged past tense, cages singular
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The parrot paced back and forth inside its _____.
Etymology
From Old French cage, going back to Latin cavea, "hollow place, enclosure" — the same root that gives us "cave" and "jail."