caged

caged — verb

1. to place an animal or bird inside an enclosure with bars or a mesh front, keepin

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to place an animal or bird inside an enclosure with bars or a mesh front, keeping it there and restricting its freedom of movement.

Example

The wildlife team caged the injured hawk until its wing healed enough to fly.

past tense: caged + animal as direct object

Poultry farmers caged their chickens at night to keep them safe from foxes.

active transitive: farmer cages chickens

Common collocations
  • cage a bird
  • cage an animal
  • cage a lion
  • cage a monkey
Synonyms
  • confine

    broader term; can mean restricting anywhere, not just in a cage.

  • lock up

    more informal; can apply to people or animals in any locked space.

  • enclose

    softer meaning; does not imply bars or restricted movement in the same way.

Antonyms
  • release

    to let an animal out of a cage back into the wild or open space.

  • free

    to remove all physical restrictions on movement.

Grammar Patterns

cage + animal/bird as object

be caged in/up

Usage Note

Frequently used in the passive voice ('the birds were caged overnight'). The active form 'cage' is less common than the past participle 'caged' used as an adjective.

Common Mistakes

He caged the cat inside the house' (when the house is not a cage).
He kept the cat inside the house.
'cage' requires a cage or cage-like enclosure, not any enclosed space.

caged — adjective

Word family

  • cage
    nounB1
  • cage
    verbB1
  • caging
    nounC1
  • uncaged
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Caged' specifically describes an animal (or person) kept inside a barred enclosure — the image of bars is central. 'Confined' is broader: it can mean restricted to any space, from a room to a hospital bed, without implying bars. 'Imprisoned' is stronger and almost always used for human incarceration in a jail or prison; using it for an animal sounds anthropomorphic. 'Trapped' suggests a sudden or accidental inability to escape (a trapped rabbit, a trapped miner) rather than a deliberate act of confinement. For example: 'The caged lion paced nervously' (bars visible), 'The patient was confined to bed for a week' (no bars), 'The bear was trapped in a canyon and could not climb out' (accidental).

caged ↗confinedimprisonedtrapped

Common collocations

Nouns

  • caged bird
  • caged animal
  • caged tiger
  • caged lion
  • caged parrot
  • caged existence
  • caged feeling

Adverbs

  • safely caged
  • tightly caged
  • temporarily caged
  • securely caged

Phrases

  • feel caged in
  • caged up

Prepositions

  • caged in
  • caged within
  • caged inside

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Caged' is the past-participle form of the verb 'cage', which comes from the noun 'cage'. That noun entered Middle English from Old French, and ultimately derives from Latin 'cavea', meaning a hollow place or an enclosure for animals. The adjective use dates from the 16th century; the figurative sense ('feeling caged') became common in the 19th century.