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Definition of confine verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

confine

verb
 
 
/kənˈfaɪn/
 
/kənˈfaɪn/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they confine
 
/kənˈfaɪn/
 
/kənˈfaɪn/
he / she / it confines
 
/kənˈfaɪnz/
 
/kənˈfaɪnz/
past simple confined
 
/kənˈfaɪnd/
 
/kənˈfaɪnd/
past participle confined
 
/kənˈfaɪnd/
 
/kənˈfaɪnd/
-ing form confining
 
/kənˈfaɪnɪŋ/
 
/kənˈfaɪnɪŋ/
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  1.  
    [often passive] to keep somebody/something inside the limits of a particular activity, subject, area, etc. synonym restrict
    • be confined to (doing) something The work will not be confined to the Glasgow area.
    • confine yourself to (doing) something I will confine myself to looking at the period from 1900 to 1916.
    • be confined + adv./prep. Here the river is confined in a narrow channel.
    Extra Examples
    • Let's confine our attention to the problem of truancy.
    • Not all horror stories are safely confined to the television set or movie screen.
    • Poverty and deprivation are by no means confined to the north of the country.
    • The discussion will be confined largely to general principles.
    • They confined themselves to purely economic matters.
    • These small mammals are generally confined to the south of the island.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • entirely
    • exclusively
    • solely
    • …
    preposition
    • to
    See full entry
  2.  
    [usually passive] to keep a person or an animal in a small or closed space
    • be confined (in something) Keep the dog confined in a suitable travelling cage.
    • The soldiers concerned were confined to barracks (= had to stay in the barracks, as a punishment).
  3. be confined to bed, a wheelchair, etc. (often offensive) to have to stay in bed, in a wheelchair, etc.
    • She was confined to bed with the flu.
    • He was confined to a wheelchair after the accident.
    Although ‘confined to a wheelchair’ is a common collocation, it gives a very negative view of disability and many people prefer not to use this phrase. You can say somebody uses a wheelchair or say they are a wheelchair user instead.
    4. Word Originlate Middle English (as a noun): from French confins (plural noun), from Latin confinia, from confinis ‘bordering’, from con- ‘together’ + finis ‘end, limit’ (plural fines ‘territory’). The verb senses are from French confiner, based on Latin confinis.
See confine in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee confine in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: confine

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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