to coop

Examples

• All

• It's not good for you to stay cooped up in the house with me all day.

  Academic text (2002)

• And Monica found the idea of being cooped up in an office for several hours slightly terrifying.

  Fiction book (1999)

• Honey, you cannot keep yourself cooped up in that room forever.

  Bloomfield (2020)

• After more than five days of being cooped up in the ship, she was going outside.

  Fiction book (2001)

• Or do you like being cooped up in this chicken run of a city?

  Fiction book (1992)

• We're rather tired of being cooped up in laboratories all the time.

  Fiction book (1999)

• I thought she'd be looking forward to coming outside after being cooped up in that trailer all winter

  Fiction book (1997)

• They've been cooped up for hours.

  American Wedding (2003)

• Much better for the dog, said Mrs. Hershleder, than being cooped up in some tiny apartment.

  Fiction book (1995)

• After spending the whole weekend cooped up in her apartment, she was eager to go for a walk.

Synonyms

C

to cage

vsto coop

40 1.0

To put a person or animal into a space with bars that keeps them from escaping

is the general idea of keeping someone in a small space

C

to coop in

vsto coop

• Informal

18 8.3

To keep people or animals in a small space so they cannot move freely

has the same sense but without the extra particle in usage

C

to corral

vsto coop

12 5.2

To gather and put animals or people into a pen to keep them together

describes simple small-space confinement rather than collective rounding up

B

to box in

vsto coop

8 4.7

To stop a person or thing from moving, acting freely and making choices

focuses more narrowly on small-space restriction rather than blocking choices

C

to closet

vsto coop

4 7.1

To shut someone in a small room to talk or work privately

is about confinement generally, not mainly for secrecy or privacy

P

to pen up

vsto coop

2 6.0

Keep animals or people in a small area

expresses the same physical confinement but with no animal focus

C

to cage in

vsto coop

2 5.4

To put someone or something into a small space with bars to stop them moving freely

is similar but emphasizes smallness and feeling of restriction instead

C

to coop up

vsto coop

• Informal

1 6.4

To keep a person or animal inside a small space like a cage

has identical meaning but appears without the added particle in speech

H

to hutch

vsto coop

7.9

To put small animals into a cage to keep them safe

covers confinement broadly, not only this animal-specific shelter

C

to cabin

vsto coop

8.6

To keep someone in a small space so they cannot leave

is the general act of confining without the roomlike imagery

Antonyms

R

release

279 1.8

An act of letting someone or something go free from being held

L

to liberate

104 4.3

Set someone free from prison or unfair control

Idioms

F

to fly the coop

• Informal

12 7.9

To leave a place suddenly without permission

Phrasal Verbs

C

to coop in

• Informal

18 8.3

To keep people or animals in a small space so they cannot move freely

C

to coop up

• Informal

1 6.4

To keep a person or animal inside a small space like a cage

Compounds

C

chicken coop

10 1.3

A small building where people keep chickens

How Confined

to imprison

• Formal

178 4.2

to lock up

300 4.0

to coop

• Informal

46 6.1

to confine

215 4.2

to restrict

361 3.1

Surface Forms

Etymology