con ‧ fine W3 AC /kənˈfaɪn/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ confinement , ↑ confines ; verb : ↑ confine ; adjective : ↑ confined ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: confiner , from Latin confinis ; ⇨ ↑ confines ]
1 . LIMIT to keep someone or something within the limits of a particular activity or subject SYN restrict
confine something to something
The police cadet’s duties were confined to taking statements from the crowd.
We confined our study to ten cases.
confine yourself to (doing) something
Owen did not confine himself to writing only one type of poem.
2 . KEEP SOMEBODY IN A PLACE to keep someone in a place that they cannot leave, such as a prison
confine somebody to something
Any soldier who leaves his post will be confined to barracks (=made to stay in the barracks) .
be confined in something
He was allegedly confined in a narrow dark room for two months.
3 . STOP SOMETHING SPREADING to stop something bad from spreading to another place
confine something to something
Firefighters managed to confine the fire to the living room.
4 . STAY IN ONE PLACE [usually passive] if you are confined to a place, you have to stay in that place, especially because you are ill:
Vaughan is confined to a wheelchair.
She’s confined to bed with flu.