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/ |
- [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.
Extra Examples- Let's confine our attention to the problem of illegal drugs.
- 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.
- Here the river is confined to a narrow channel.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- entirely
- exclusively
- solely
- …
- to
- [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.
- Here the river is confined in a narrow channel.
- The soldiers concerned were confined to barracks (= had to stay in the barracks, as a punishment).
- be confined to bed, a wheelchair, etc. 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.
- She's been confined to a wheelchair since having a bad fall.
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.