[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/confine/)

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# confine

verb (confine, confines, confined, confining); noun (confines — see the separate entry)

«confine» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To keep someone or something inside a small or closed space: «The dog was confined to the kitchen». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#m1)
2. To keep something within a limit and not let it spread or go beyond: «Please confine your answer to 100 words». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#m2)
3. Be confined to bed, a wheelchair or the house: to have to stay there because of illness or injury. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#m3)
4. (old) To be confined: to be in bed to give birth to a baby. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#m4)
5. To hold something tightly in place, such as tying hair back. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#m5)

### In the lessons

In science and safety texts: a fire was «confined to one room», a virus «confined to one area». In school instructions: «confine your answer to the question». In stories, prisoners or animals are confined in cells or cages. Phrases: «confined to», «confine yourself to», «confined space», «confined to bed».

### Examples

- The fire was confined to the kitchen and did not spread. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#x1)
- Grandad was confined to bed with flu for a week. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#x2)
- Please confine your talk to five minutes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#x3)
- The tiger paced in its confined enclosure. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#x4)
- Cats hate being confined in a box. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#x5)
- Firefighters train for rescues in confined spaces. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#x6)
- The flooding was confined to the low part of town. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#x7)
- Aphrodite is also frequently represented in the act of confining her dripping locks in a knot, whilst her attendant nymphs envelop her in a gauzy veil. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/#x8)

### Note

Usually used in the passive: «be confined to». Stress on the second syllable: con-FINE. The noun «confinement» means being kept somewhere (solitary confinement in prison). «Confine» is formal; in everyday talk people say «keep in», «shut in» or «limit to».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «confine» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/confine/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«confine» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/confine.html) on Mova free.