confine */

confine */
UK [kənˈfaɪn] / US verb [transitive]
Word forms "confine":
present tense I/you/we/they confine he/she/it confines present participle confining past tense confined past participle confined
1)
a) [always passive] if something is confined to one area or group of people, it happens only in that area or affects only that group of people
be confined to someone/something:

Before 1914 divorce was largely confined to the upper classes.

The risk of infection is confined to relatively small groups.

b) formal to keep an activity within particular limits
confine something to something:

I shall attempt to confine the discussion to broad principles.

2)
a) [usually passive] to force someone to stay in a place and prevent them from leaving
confine someone to something:

Many prisoners are confined to their cells for long periods of time.

b) to make someone stay in a place because they are too ill, weak, or disabled to leave
confine someone to something:

Ill health kept him confined to his room.

3) to prevent something dangerous from spreading
confine something to something:

They managed to confine the fire to the engine room.


English dictionary. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • confiné — confiné, ée [ kɔ̃fine ] adj. • de confiner 1 ♦ Enfermé. Vivre confiné chez soi. 2 ♦ (1842) Air confiné, non renouvelé. ⇒ renfermé. Atmosphère confinée. confiné, ée adj. d1./d Enfermé. Un malade confiné dans sa chambre. Fig. Un esprit confiné dans …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • confine — con·fine vt con·fined, con·fin·ing: to hold within a location; specif: imprison Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. confine …   Law dictionary

  • Confine — Country …   Wikipedia

  • confiné — confiné, ée (kon fi né, née) part. passé. Relégué. Confiné dans un lieu solitaire. •   Obscurément confiné au fond de sa province, D ALEMB. Éloges, Trublet …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Confine — Con fine (? or ?); 277), v. i. To have a common boundary; to border; to lie contiguous; to touch; followed by on or with. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Where your gloomy bounds Confine with heaven. Milton. [1913 Webster] Bewixt heaven and earth and skies …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Confine — Con fine, n. 1. Common boundary; border; limit; used chiefly in the plural. [1913 Webster] Events that came to pass within the confines of Judea. Locke. [1913 Webster] And now in little space The confines met of empyrean heaven, And of this world …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Confine — Con*fine (k[o^]n*f[imac]n ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Confined}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Confining}.] [F. confiner to border upon, LL. confinare to set bounds to; con + finis boundary, end. See {Final}, {Finish}.] To restrain within limits; to restrict; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • confine — s.m. [dal lat. confine, neutro dell agg. confinis confinante ]. 1. (geogr.) [linea che delimita un territorio o un terreno da un altro] ▶◀ delimitazione, demarcazione, limite, termine, [di regione geografica o di stato] frontiera. 2. (estens.)… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • confine — (n.) c.1400, boundary, limit (usually as confines), from O.Fr. confins boundaries, from M.L. confines, from L. confinium (pl. confinia) boundary, limit, from confine, neut. of confinis bordering on, having the same boundaries, from com with (see… …   Etymology dictionary

  • confine — vb circumscribe, *limit, restrict Analogous words: bind, *tie: *restrain, curb, inhibit, check: *hamper, trammel, fetter, shackle, hog tie, manacle: *imprison, incarcerate, immure, intern, jail confine n bound, * …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • confine — ► VERB 1) (confine to) restrict (someone or something) within certain limits of (space, scope, or time). 2) (be confined to) be unable to leave (one s bed, home, etc.) due to illness or disability. 3) (be confined) dated (of a woman) remain in… …   English terms dictionary

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