1
: kept within confines: such as
a
: limited to a particular location
confined to bed
b
: held captive
confined prisoners
2
: very small
confined spaces
a confined compartment
3
dated
: undergoing childbirth
In Scotland, the Countess of Athole, who was lying-in at Edinburgh Castle near the similarly confined Mary, Queen of Scots, is reported to have cast her own birth pangs onto a waiting-woman in the queen's chamber.—
Michael Olmert
Michael OlmertSynonyms
Examples of confined in a Sentence
She gets uncomfortable in confined spaces.
confined citizens have basic rights under that nation's constitution
Recent Examples on the Web
She's even become so accustomed to the city that her favorite method of transportation is the subway, even though many celebrities of her stature wouldn't want to trap themselves in a confined, often crowded space.
—Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 8 Nov. 2023
The change in color depends on how electrons act differently in more confined or less confined spaces.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 4 Oct. 2023
By collecting data on the big cats, the Olympic Cougar Project is bolstering the case for constructing a wildlife overpass over I-5 so that the species is less confined.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Aug. 2023
Many changes for him are happening in a confined, immediate-impact space of the field.
—Michael Gehlken, Dallas News, 3 Aug. 2023
And the seawalls the Army Corps is proposing for the area could serve to make residents feel all the more confined.
—Geoff Dembicki, The New Republic, 2 Aug. 2023
The native range of the muskellunge, on the other hand, is more confined, covering all the northern Midwest states, Great Lakes and their shorelines, Northeastern Canada, and the Ohio River Valley all the way into Tennessee.
—Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 19 July 2023
According to the team, some of the limitations of this study include keeping the snake pairs in very confined spaces and not examining whether a stress buffering response occurs when the animals are close, but not in physical contact with each other.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 July 2023
The technique aims to force defects to form in such a confined space that working devices can be constructed little more than 100 nm above the interface with the underlying silicon.
—Roel Baets, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Apr. 2023
Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 8 Nov. 2023
The change in color depends on how electrons act differently in more confined or less confined spaces.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 4 Oct. 2023
By collecting data on the big cats, the Olympic Cougar Project is bolstering the case for constructing a wildlife overpass over I-5 so that the species is less confined.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Aug. 2023
Many changes for him are happening in a confined, immediate-impact space of the field.
—Michael Gehlken, Dallas News, 3 Aug. 2023
And the seawalls the Army Corps is proposing for the area could serve to make residents feel all the more confined.
—Geoff Dembicki, The New Republic, 2 Aug. 2023
The native range of the muskellunge, on the other hand, is more confined, covering all the northern Midwest states, Great Lakes and their shorelines, Northeastern Canada, and the Ohio River Valley all the way into Tennessee.
—Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 19 July 2023
According to the team, some of the limitations of this study include keeping the snake pairs in very confined spaces and not examining whether a stress buffering response occurs when the animals are close, but not in physical contact with each other.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 July 2023
The technique aims to force defects to form in such a confined space that working devices can be constructed little more than 100 nm above the interface with the underlying silicon.
—Roel Baets, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'confined.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near confined
Cite this Entry
“Confined.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confined. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
confined
adjective
con·fined
kən-ˈfīnd 
: undergoing childbirth
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