How to Use lockup in a Sentence

lockup

noun
  • For years drug use had washed him in and out of state lockups like a tide.
    — Kyle Swenson, chicagotribune.com, 31 May 2018
  • Diaz and Segui were in the van; the others were at the lockup.
    — Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 28 Nov. 2022
  • He and other board members are bound by the same lockup agreement.
    — Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
  • Expect to see lockups happen here, and cars go straight into the run-off.
    — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 22 May 2025
  • Hubbell, who appeared in court in red jail garb, will remain in the county lockup.
    — Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 3 Oct. 2025
  • He's been in the Chicago federal lockup for more than a year.
    — Maria Puente, USA TODAY, 4 Sep. 2020
  • An engine stall and rear wheel lockup can increase the risk of a crash or injury, the report said.
    — Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 11 Nov. 2024
  • James has been jailed since the shooting in a federal lockup just blocks from where the attack took place.
    — CBS News, 3 Jan. 2023
  • How about being led by staff in prison garb to a table inside what’s designed to be a makeshift lockup?
    — Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Cops, perhaps Sox fans themselves, arrived and hauled him off to the lockup.
    — Kori Rumore, chicagotribune.com, 1 Oct. 2020
  • Connie spends the rest of the film trying to raise his bail (in clean bills) or break him out of hospital lockup.
    — Christian Lorentzen, New Republic, 11 Aug. 2017
  • The ordeal began Sunday when the pair tunneled their way out of the lockup.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 26 Nov. 2019
  • James has been jailed since the shooting in a federal lockup just blocks from where the attack occurred.
    — Michael R. Sisak, ajc, 3 Jan. 2023
  • The sheriff runs the women’s jail and six other lockups as part of the nation’s largest jail system.
    — Maya Lau, latimes.com, 1 Apr. 2018
  • Prison records show Lopez was most recently being held at a lockup in Gatesville.
    — Julia Musto, Fox News, 14 May 2022
  • If found guilty on all counts, Dillon faces up to 50 years in federal lockup.
    — Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 16 July 2021
  • How does the franchise use the long-term lockup of Guerrero’s heading forward?
    — Richard Deitsch, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
  • And would the debacle bring change to a jail that had seemingly failed to turn the page on the city’s long-struggling lockups?
    — Chris Kenning, USA Today, 17 June 2025
  • There's no lockup on a banker's fortunes as there is for entrepreneurs or even the VCs behind a deal.
    — Adam Lashinsky, WIRED, 1 Mar. 2001
  • She was sentenced to serve just 18 months in county lockup and just 18 months on house arrest.
    — Ashley Remkus | [email protected], al, 19 Oct. 2020
  • Salinas Valley has become one of the most violent lockups in the state.
    — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
  • Band-Aid repairs costing millions of dollars have been common at the lockup through the years.
    — Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 19 Oct. 2019
  • He’s being held at a federal lockup in Brooklyn.
    — Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Phil tells Johnny that Blackie met Allen in lockup, too, and Allen is bad news.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Timberlake was arrested, spent the rest of the night in a local lockup, and was released in the morning.
    — Sean Piccoli, Deadline, 26 July 2024
  • Once Joe left alone — with Halsey (Phil Burke), the suspect, in lockup — the lights flicker out.
    — Lisa De Los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 30 Mar. 2025
  • In the event that Gunther fails to find the real killer, Bormann has an innocent man in the lockup who will have to take the rap.
    — Richard Lipez, The Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2017
  • In video released June 20, Rodriguez is seated at a desk with a computer in the city lockup.
    — Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 10 July 2023
  • In video released June 20, Rodriguez is seen seated at a desk with a computer in the city lockup.
    — Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 10 Apr. 2024
  • The request comes amid growing concern over conditions inside county lockups.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lockup.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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