confine

confine
verb (T)
1 LIMIT to keep someone or something within the limits of a particular activity or subject; restrict: be confined to: The police cadet's duties were confined to taking statements from the crowd. | a former editor now confined to organizing the letter page | confine yourself to sth: We must confine ourselves to the subject at hand.
2 be confined to
a) to affect or happen to only one group of people, or in only one place or time: This disease is not just confined to children.
b) to have to stay in a place, especially because you are ill: an elderly woman confined to a small apartment | confined to bed: I was confined to bed for 10 days with a nasty bout of flu. | confined to a wheelchair (=unable to walk): Although confined to a wheelchair, she is very active in church life.
3 KEEP SB IN A PLACE to keep someone in a place that they cannot leave, such as a prison: confine sb to: Any soldier who leaves his post will be confined to the barracks. | be confined in: He was allegedly confined in a narrow, dark room for two months.
4 STOP SPREADING to stop something bad from spreading to another place: confine sth to sth: Firefighters quickly confined the blaze to the factory floor.
5 STAY IN BED (usually passive) to make someone stay in bed because they are ill: I had flu and was confined to bed.

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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  • 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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