Cage Meaning
/keɪd͡ʒ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals.
nounAn enclosure made of spaced bars, normally to hold animals while providing some ventilation.
Sentence Examples
The lions are in the cage.
The lion struggled to get out of his cage.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The zookeeper carefully locked the lion inside the secure steel ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The birds were kept in a large ____ to keep them safe in the garden.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English cage, from Old French cage, from Latin cavea. Doublet of cadge and cavea and related to jail.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"For his father had / never a house but the cage."
— c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii], lines 48–49:
"Stone walls do not a prison make, / Nor iron bars a cage."
— 1642, Richard Lovelace, To Althea, from Prison, stanza 4, lines 1–2:
"Schwartz examines with dignity and tenderness the battles within and without of […] families, created and biological, and the cages and freedom they can provide."
— 1989 December 17, Nan Donald, “Broken Hearts, Messed Up Families, And New Beginnings”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 23, page 9:
"My body is a cage / That keeps me from dancing with the one I love / But my mind holds the key"
— 2007, Jeremy Gara, Régine Chassagne, “My Body Is a Cage”, in Neon Bible, performed by Arcade Fire:
"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."
— 1985 December 14, Robyn Shawnee Jackson, “Kouuntry And Kitten”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 22, page 4:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The zookeeper carefully locked the lion inside the secure steel ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The birds were kept in a large ____ to keep them safe in the garden.