[cage] n [ME, fr. OF, fr. L cavea cavity, cage, fr. cavus hollow--more at cave] (13c) 1: a box or enclosure having some openwork for confining or carrying animals (as birds)
2. a: a barred cell for confining prisoners b: a fenced area for prisoners of war
3: a framework serving as support "the steel ~ of a skyscraper"
4. a: an enclosure resembling a cage in form or purpose "a cashier's ~" b: an arrangement of atoms or molecules so bonded as to enclose a space in which another atom or ion (as of a metal) can reside
5. a: a screen placed behind home plate to stop baseballs during batting practice b: a goal consisting of posts or a frame with a net attached (as in ice hockey)
6: a large building with area for practicing outdoor sports and often adapted for indoor events: field house
2. -- cage.ful n
[2]cage vt caged ; cag.ing (1577) 1: to confine or keep in or as if in a cage
2: to drive (as a puck) into a cage and score a goal