1
: a box or enclosure having some openwork for confining or carrying animals (such as birds)
2
a
: a barred cell for confining prisoners
b
: a fenced area for prisoners of war
3
: a framework serving as support
the steel cage of a skyscraper
4
a
: an enclosure resembling a cage in form or purpose
a cashier's cage
b
: an arrangement of atoms or molecules so bonded as to enclose a space in which another atom or ion (as of a metal) can reside
5
a
b
: a goal consisting of posts or a frame with a net attached (as in ice hockey)
6
: a large building containing an area for practicing outdoor sports and often adapted for indoor events
caged; caging
1
: to confine or keep in or as if in a cage
2
: to drive (a puck, a shot, etc.) into a cage and score a goal
Synonyms
Examples of cage in a Sentence
Noun
the dogs and cats at the animal shelter looked so sad in their cages
Verb
caged the rabbit at night so she wouldn't wake everyone up
Recent Examples on the Web
Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Steeped in history, its bird cage was first built for the 1904 World’s Fair in STL.
—Vogue, 3 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, a flying tourbillon is positioned at 12 o’clock; the featherweight component weighs just 0.35 grams despite being housed in a cage composed of 62 separate parts.
—Oren Hartov, Robb Report, 2 Apr. 2024
Among his treasures is Alberto Giacometti’s The Nose (1947), a scraggly construction of bronze, iron and twine, suspended in a cage.
—Angelica Aboulhosn, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
Block planned to stay on guard and pull the string whenever the peacock entered the cage.
—Sydney Page, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024
Just last year, a slow-burn feud between Zuckerberg and Elon Musk flared into threats of violence—albeit refereed—when Musk suggested that the two face off in a cage match.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2024
The manager also received several text messages from someone falsely claiming to be the casino’s cage director, telling the manager to follow the caller’s instructions, the complaint said.
—Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2024
In 2021, Zac Posen dressed Debbie Harry in a tattered flag gown for the Met Gala, the dress’s stripes wrapped around a visible cage skirt.
—Mattie Kahn, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024
Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024
Tucked among leafy tree branches, caged macaws and cockatoos watched from above as children plunged their greasy hands into piles of fries.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
To cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024
Hefner kept two pet lovebirds caged in his bathroom, but several died, said BuzzFeed.
—Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week Uk, theweek, 30 Jan. 2024
In the late 1960s, big auto makers welcomed caged robotic arms (not safe for people to be around), stirring more innovations under the rubric of advanced manufacturing.
—Rich Blake, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Fashioned by a woodcarver (David Bradley) grieving over the loss of his child, the little wooden puppet (Gregory Mann) is a rambunctious, willful lad who refuses to be caged or silenced.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 31 Jan. 2024
In the video, submitted as evidence in the court case and viewed by Fortune, Kry, dressed in a blue gingham shirt and sunglasses, watches as workers unload caged monkeys from the back of a pickup truck at the Cambodian breeding facility.
—Erika Fry, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2024
Sitting at a cold steel table in the day room of this detention center evokes vivid memories of my troublesome teenage years spent caged within the criminal justice system.
—Marcus Lilly, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2024
Noun
Kanye West threatened to lock kids in cages at his private Christian school, new suit says
Carole Middleton, a former British Airways flight attendant, launched Party Pieces in 1987, as a company that made children’s birthday party bags.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Steeped in history, its bird cage was first built for the 1904 World’s Fair in STL.
—Vogue, 3 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, a flying tourbillon is positioned at 12 o’clock; the featherweight component weighs just 0.35 grams despite being housed in a cage composed of 62 separate parts.
—Oren Hartov, Robb Report, 2 Apr. 2024
Among his treasures is Alberto Giacometti’s The Nose (1947), a scraggly construction of bronze, iron and twine, suspended in a cage.
—Angelica Aboulhosn, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
Block planned to stay on guard and pull the string whenever the peacock entered the cage.
—Sydney Page, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024
Just last year, a slow-burn feud between Zuckerberg and Elon Musk flared into threats of violence—albeit refereed—when Musk suggested that the two face off in a cage match.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2024
The manager also received several text messages from someone falsely claiming to be the casino’s cage director, telling the manager to follow the caller’s instructions, the complaint said.
—Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2024
In 2021, Zac Posen dressed Debbie Harry in a tattered flag gown for the Met Gala, the dress’s stripes wrapped around a visible cage skirt.
—Mattie Kahn, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024
Verb
Elections can’t be free where the minds of voters are caged.
—Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024
Tucked among leafy tree branches, caged macaws and cockatoos watched from above as children plunged their greasy hands into piles of fries.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
To cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024
Hefner kept two pet lovebirds caged in his bathroom, but several died, said BuzzFeed.
—Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week Uk, theweek, 30 Jan. 2024
In the late 1960s, big auto makers welcomed caged robotic arms (not safe for people to be around), stirring more innovations under the rubric of advanced manufacturing.
—Rich Blake, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Fashioned by a woodcarver (David Bradley) grieving over the loss of his child, the little wooden puppet (Gregory Mann) is a rambunctious, willful lad who refuses to be caged or silenced.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 31 Jan. 2024
In the video, submitted as evidence in the court case and viewed by Fortune, Kry, dressed in a blue gingham shirt and sunglasses, watches as workers unload caged monkeys from the back of a pickup truck at the Cambodian breeding facility.
—Erika Fry, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2024
Sitting at a cold steel table in the day room of this detention center evokes vivid memories of my troublesome teenage years spent caged within the criminal justice system.
—Marcus Lilly, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cage. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cage
1 of 2 noun1
: an enclosure that has large openings covered usually with wire net or bars and is used for keeping animals or birds
2
: an enclosure like a cage in form or purpose
cageful
noun
cage
2 of 2 verb
caged; caging
: to put or keep in or as if in a cage
Medical Definition
cage
noun
: an arrangement of atoms or molecules so bonded as to enclose a space in which another atom or ion (as of a metal) can reside
Biographical Definition
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