cage

cage — noun

1. a structure with bars or wire around it, used for keeping birds or animals insid

1.nounB1
Definition

a structure with bars or wire around it, used for keeping birds or animals inside.

Example

Aiko cleaned the rabbit's cage before the children came home from school.

collocation: clean a cage

Two noisy parrots rattled the cage beside the shop door all morning.

Common collocations
  • bird cage
  • rabbit cage
  • wire cage
  • clean a cage
  • keep in a cage
Synonyms
  • coop

    used mainly for chickens or other birds

  • kennel

    used for dogs rather than birds or many other animals

  • crate

    often used for carrying or training an animal, especially a dog

Grammar Patterns

a cage for [animal]

keep [animal] in a cage

Usage Note

Common with words naming the animal or the material, such as bird cage, rabbit cage, or wire cage. Distinguish from a pen or kennel, which are often larger or more open.

Common Mistakes

The horse slept in a cage.
The horse slept in a stable.
a cage is usually for smaller birds or animals, not for a horse.

2. a netted practice area where baseball players hit balls thrown to them.

2.nounB2
Definition

a netted practice area where baseball players hit balls thrown to them.

Example

After class, Diego hit fifty balls in the batting cage behind school.

compound: batting cage

The coach fixed a torn net before the team used the cage.

Common collocations
  • batting cage
  • use the cage
  • inside the cage
  • practice in the cage
Synonyms
  • batting cage

    the standard full expression for this sports sense

  • hitting cage

    an informal sports variant with the same basic meaning

  • practice net

    broader; can be used for other sports and is less exact

Grammar Patterns

the batting cage

practise in the cage

Usage Note

Usually appears in the fixed phrase batting cage. Distinguish from noun sense 1: people stand inside this kind of cage to practise hitting, not to keep animals there.

Common Mistakes

The team trained in the cage for football.
The team trained in the batting cage for baseball.
this sense belongs to baseball or softball hitting practice.
Idioms

rattle somebody’s cage

idiom

To deliberately make someone feel angry or upset.

Maya's constant teasing rattled her brother's cage during dinner.

Did the boss's criticism rattle Diego's cage this morning?

cage — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These words all describe places where animals are kept, but they suggest different kinds of space. A cage usually has bars or wire and is often for birds, rabbits, or other small animals. A pen is more open and is often used for farm animals such as sheep or pigs. A kennel is specifically for dogs. A coop is mainly for chickens or other birds. A crate is often a box-like container used to carry an animal or keep it in one place for a short time. Compare: 'The parrot stayed in its cage by the window,' but 'The sheep waited in a pen behind the barn.'

cage ↗pen ↗kennelcoopcrate ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • wire cage
  • metal cage
  • animal cage

Phrases

  • keep in a cage
  • put in a cage

Prepositions

  • in a cage

Etymology

LatinAnglo-FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

English took cage into Middle English from Anglo-French or Old French cage, and that word goes back to Latin cavea, which meant an enclosed or hollow space. Early English uses named a barred place for keeping animals, and the idea later extended to prison cells and other enclosed structures. The verb developed later from the noun and meant putting something into such a space.