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confine

 - 5 dictionary results

con⋅fine

  [kuhn-fahyn for 1, 2, 5, 6; kon-fahyn for 3, 4] verb, -fined, -fin⋅ing, noun
Use confine in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to enclose within bounds; limit or restrict: She confined her remarks to errors in the report. Confine your efforts to finishing the book.
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.
–noun
3. Usually, confines. a boundary or bound; limit; border; frontier.
4. Often, confines. region; territory.
5. Archaic. confinement.
6. Obsolete. a place of confinement; prison.
Origin:
1350–1400 for n.; 1515–25 for v.; (n.) ME < MF confins, confines < ML confinia, pl. of L confinis boundary, border (see con-, fine 2 ); (v.) < MF confiner, v. deriv. of confins < L, as above

Related forms:
con⋅fin⋅a⋅ble, con⋅fine⋅a⋅ble, adjective
con⋅fine⋅less, adjective
con⋅fin⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. circumscribe.

Antonyms:
1, 2. free.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To confine
con·fine   (kən-fīn')   
v.   con·fined, con·fin·ing, con·fines

v.   tr.

  1. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit.

  2. To shut or keep in, especially to imprison.

  3. To restrict in movement: The sick child was confined to bed.

v.   intr. Archaic
To border.
n.   (kŏn'fīn')

  1. confines

    1. The limits of a space or area; the borders: within the confines of one county.

    2. Restraining elements: wanted to escape the confines of corporate politics.

    3. Purview; scope: a theory that is well within the confines of science.

    4. Archaic A restriction.

    5. Obsolete A prison.

    1. Archaic A restriction.

    2. Obsolete A prison.


[French confiner, from Old French, from confins, boundaries, ultimately from Latin cōnfīne, from neuter of cōnfīnis, adjoining : com-, com- + fīnis, border.]
con·fin'a·ble, con·fine'a·ble adj., con·fin'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

confine 
c.1400, from L. confinium (pl. confinia) "boundary, limit," from confine, neut. of confinis "bordering on," from com- "with" + finis "an end." The noun is older in Eng.; verb sense of "keeping within limits" is from 1595. Confinement is from 1595, as a euphemism for "childbed" it dates from 1774 (the M.E. expression was Our Lady's bands).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: con·fine
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: con·fined; con·fin·ing
: to hold within a location; specifically : IMPRISON
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: con·fine
Pronunciation: k&n-'fIn
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: con·fined; con·fin·ing
: to keep from leaving accustomed quarters (as one's room or bed) under pressure of infirmity, childbirth, or detention
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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