pen sb in/up
— phrasal verb with pen uk/pen/us/pen/verb [ T ] -nn- formal
to keep people or animals in a small area:
The sheep were penned in behind the barn.
The soldiers were penned up in their barracks.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Putting people in prison
- at His/Her Majesty's pleasure idiom
- bang
- bang sb up
- bar
- behind bars idiom
- bird
- hold
- immured
- imprison
- incarcerate
- internment
- jail
- lock
- pen
- restraint
- rot
- rot in jail, prison, etc. idiom
- send
- send sb down
- serve
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Animal farming - general words