What does "cage" mean?
An enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals.
Cage
/keɪd͡ʒ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals.
- Grammar: cage is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: batting cage, beleaguer, beset, besiege.
- Useful contrasts: expand, free, freedom.
- Usage evidence: The lion struggled to get out of his cage.
How to use "cage"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cage" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cage" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cage" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cage" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cage" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "batting cage" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cage", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals.
"We keep a bird in a cage."
- 2 a movable screen placed behind home base to catch balls during batting practice wordnet
- 3 The passenger compartment of a lift.
- 4 an enclosure made or wire or metal bars in which birds or animals can be kept wordnet
- 5 The goal.
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 the net that is the goal in ice hockey wordnet
- 7 An automobile. US, derogatory, slang
- 8 something that restricts freedom as a cage restricts movement wordnet
- 9 Something that hinders freedom. figuratively
"Schwartz examines with dignity and tenderness the battles within and without of […] families, created and biological, and the cages and freedom they can provide."
- 10 A prison or prison cell. slang
"The 'out of the closet' lesbians and gay men here in the Iowa Cages are harassed and discriminated daily by oppressive pigs, believe me, I know, as a lesbian I've experienced it first hand and seen my fellow lesbian and gay friends oppressed to where I'm ready to explode."
- 11 The area from which competitors throw a discus or hammer.
- 12 An outer framework of timber, enclosing something within it.
"Cage, in carpentry, is an outer work of timber inclosing another within it. Thus the cage of a stair is the wooden inclosure that encircles it."
- 13 A skeleton frame to limit the motion of a loose piece, such as a ball valve.
- 14 A wirework strainer, used in connection with pumps and pipes.
- 15 The drum on which the rope is wound in a hoisting whim.
- 16 The protective wire mask at the front of a helmet.
- 17 A regular graph that has as few vertices as possible for its girth.
- 18 In killer sudoku puzzles, an irregularly-shaped group of cells that must contain a set of unique digits adding up to a certain total, in addition to the usual constraints of sudoku.
Verb
- 1 To confine in a cage; to put into and keep in a cage. transitive
"And the row of human captors, ever leering, They who caged me, Know their power and gloat on my captivity."
- 2 confine in a cage wordnet
- 3 To imprison. slang, transitive
"The serial killer was caged for life."
- 4 To restrict someone's movement or creativity. figuratively, transitive
- 5 To immobilize an artificial horizon.
"To prevent damage to its gimbal mountings during extreme aerobatic maneuvers, the navball should be caged before the start of a display sequence."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To track individual responses to direct mail, either (advertising) to maintain and develop mailing lists or (politics) to identify people who are not eligible to vote because they do not reside at the registered addresses.
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from French.
Example
"The lion struggled to get out of his cage."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cage"?
Common synonyms include: batting cage, beleaguer, beset, besiege, birdcage, birdcages.
How do you use "cage" in a sentence?
The lion struggled to get out of his cage.
How do you pronounce "cage"?
Pronounced /keɪd͡ʒ/.
Etymology
From Middle English cage, from Old French cage, from Latin cavea. Doublet of cadge and cavea and related to jail.