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Glite Dictionary
to coop in

to coop in

18 8.3
To keep people or animals in a small space so they cannot move freely
  • phrasal verb
  • /kuːp ɪn/
  • Informal
translation icon : encerrar
  • Six days a week, I spend cooped up in this house, my love, looking after their little boy.
  • cooped up in here
  • cooped up in an apartment
  • cooped up in a room

It's that being cooped up in your home is going to reveal the reality of how you actually, whether or not you actually connect.

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Examples

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

    Fiction book (1999)

  • I don't feel like being cooped up alone in this room, okay?

    M&A (2023)

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

    Bloomfield (2020)

  • How do you think I feel cooped up in these rooms?

    Anna Karenina (1997)

  • 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)

  • Kept you cooped up in here far too long and I'm sorry about that.

    Self/less (2015)

  • The girl had been cooped up in their house for months and was as pale as a ghost.

    Fiction book (2000)

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

    Fiction book (1999)

  • After being cooped in the house for days, I finally went out for a walk.

Synonyms

to coop
vsto coop in
  • Informal
46 6.1

To keep someone or something in a small space so they cannot move freely

is the phrasal form stressing confinement and restricted movement
to cage
vsto coop in
40 1.0

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

is more about small space confinement rather than a physical barred container
to box in
vsto coop in
8 4.7

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

is usually narrower, implying confinement in a very small space
to hem in
vsto coop in
6 6.7

Surround a person or thing so they cannot leave

suggests being confined in a small enclosed place rather than just surrounded
to cage in
vsto coop in
2 5.4

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

is similar but stresses a smaller enclosed space and restricted freedom
to coop up
vsto coop in
  • Informal
1 6.4

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

is more about confining in a small area than evoking a barred enclosure

Antonyms

free
∞ 1.0

Able to act as you want without limits

unconfined
4.7

Without walls or edges, things move freely

How Confined

to imprison
  • Formal
178 4.2
to lock up
300 4.0
to coop in
  • Informal
18 8.3
to confine
215 4.2
to restrict
361 3.1

Surface Forms

coop in infinitive
cooped in past
cooped in past participle
cooping in present participle
coops in third person singular

Morphology

coop + in

The verb 'coop' (to confine in a small space) combined with the preposition 'in' (inside) yields a directly compositional meaning 'to confine inside', so a learner who knows both words can derive the MWE sense. This verb+preposition composition is a common, cross-linguistically transparent pattern, making the expression immediately understandable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Coop in comes from the picture of putting animals into a small coop and tucking them in a tight cage to keep them safe. So, coop in means 'to confine someone or something in a small space' or 'to feel trapped'.