pen up
Keep in enclosure
To pen up is to confine in a small or enclosed space, like animals penned in a corral: The dogs were penned up in the backyard.
The phrase often carries a sense of restriction or frustration: After being penned up all winter, the kids were desperate to play outside.
Closely related to pen in.
- restrainLimit freedom of movement
- hold backPrevent forward movement
- confineRestrict to boundaries
- encloseShut in on all sides
- repressHold back forcibly
fence in · hold · corral · rein in · imprison · shut away · stifle · cage · impound · lock away · quarantine · isolate · encircle · barricade · paddock · stockade · tether · wall in