lock-up

lock-up — 片語動詞

1. to close and fasten all the locks on the entrances and windows of a building, ma

1.片語動詞及物 / 不及物B1
釋義

鎖好門窗

鎖上建築物的所有門窗以確保安全

to close and fasten all the locks on the entrances and windows of a building, making it safe when nobody is inside

例句

Élise always locks up the shop before she goes home for the night.

Élise 總是會在回家過夜前把店鋪的門窗鎖好。

lock up + shop / office / house (building nouns)

The last person to leave the office should lock up and set the alarm.

最後離開辦公室的人應該鎖好門窗並啟動警報器。

intransitive use: “lock up” without an object

同義詞
  • secure

    more formal; used in official instructions (“Secure the premises before leaving”)

  • bolt

    more specific to sliding a metal bar across the door; less common in everyday speech

  • shut up

    informal British usage (“Shut up the shop”); avoid confusion with “shut up” meaning stop talking

反義詞
  • open up

    to unlock and open a building for the day

  • unlock

    to open a lock, undoing the action of locking

文法句型

lock up [noun phrase]

lock [noun phrase] up

lock up (intransitive)

用法筆記

Can be used without an object when the building is clear from context (“Who locked up last night?”). The object (the name of the building) often goes between “lock” and “up” in short sentences: “lock the house up” or “lock up the house.”

常見錯誤

❌I locked the keys up inside the car.
✅I locked the keys in the car.
💡“lock up” means securing a building, not accidentally trapping something inside a vehicle.

2. to put someone in prison or in a confined space such as a cell, so that they can

2.片語動詞及物B1
釋義

關押；監禁

把某人關進監獄或牢房裡

to put someone in prison or in a confined space such as a cell, so that they cannot leave

例句

The judge ordered that the burglar be locked up for at least three years.

法官判那名竊賊至少關押三年。

passive: “be locked up for [duration]”

In some countries, journalists are still locked up for reporting the truth.

在某些國家，記者仍會因為報導真相而被關進監獄。

passive: “be locked up for [reason]”

同義詞
  • imprison

    more formal and official; used in legal writing

  • incarcerate

    very formal; used in official or academic contexts

  • jail

    similar register; common in news reporting (“He was jailed for five years”)

反義詞
  • release

    to set someone free from prison

  • free

    more general; can mean to let someone out of any confinement

文法句型

lock [someone] up

be locked up

be locked up in [place]

be locked up for [crime / duration]

用法筆記

Commonly used in the passive voice (“was locked up”) when the police or authorities are the understood but unstated subject. In informal contexts, can also refer to restricting someone to a room (“They locked the child up in her bedroom as punishment”), but the primary meaning is imprisonment.

常見錯誤

❌The police locked up the criminal.
✅The police locked the criminal up.
💡Both forms are correct; the separable form sounds more natural in short sentences. Focus on getting the object in the right place rather than avoiding the structure.

3. to store something valuable, important, or dangerous inside a lockable container

3.片語動詞及物B1
釋義

鎖起存放

將貴重物品鎖進抽屜、保險箱等安全處

to store something valuable, important, or dangerous inside a lockable container or room so that it cannot be stolen or accessed by others

例句

Anong took off her wedding ring and locked it up in her bedside drawer.

Anong 脫下她的結婚戒指，鎖進床頭櫃的抽屜裡。

lock [thing] up in [container]

The lawyer told us to lock up the original contracts in a fireproof safe.

律師告訴我們把原始合約鎖進防火保險箱裡。

lock up + documents / contracts / valuables

同義詞
  • lock away

    very similar meaning; “lock away” often implies putting something out of reach for good

  • store

    more general; does not necessarily involve a lock

  • secure

    formal; used in official instructions about handling valuables or documents

反義詞
  • take out

    to remove something from its locked storage

文法句型

lock up [noun phrase]

lock [noun phrase] up

lock [noun phrase] up in [container]

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1 (SECURE BUILDING) — sense 3 refers to putting a specific item inside a lockable space, not to securing an entire building. The preposition “in” is frequently used to specify the container: “lock up the money in a box.”

常見錯誤

❌I locked up my bag.
✅I locked my bag up in the locker.
💡The verb alone does not explain where the item is stored; add a location with “in” to make the meaning clear.

4. to invest money in a way that makes it impossible or very costly to get the cash

4.片語動詞及物B2
釋義

鎖住資金

投資時資金被卡住，短期內無法提領

to invest money in a way that makes it impossible or very costly to get the cash back before a fixed date

例句

The pension plan locks up workers’ savings until they turn sixty.

這項退休金計畫會鎖住員工的儲蓄，直到他們年滿六十歲。

lock up + savings / capital / funds

Folake was warned that the new fund would lock her money up for at least five years.

Folake 被告知這檔新基金會把她的錢鎖住至少五年。

lock [money] up for [duration]

同義詞
  • tie up

    a slightly less formal alternative; “My money is tied up in the business”

  • freeze

    stronger; suggests that money cannot be moved at all, often by court order

反義詞
  • release

    to make invested money available again (“release the funds”)

  • withdraw

    to take money out of an account or investment

文法句型

lock up [money / capital]

be locked up in [investment]

lock [money] up for [period]

用法筆記

Restricted to formal financial contexts. The subject is usually a financial product (fund, plan, bond) or an investor. Never refers to physical locking — the “lock” here is metaphorical, describing a contractual restriction on withdrawing money.

常見錯誤

❌I locked up some shares last Thursday.
✅My investment plan locks up my money for ten years.
💡“lock up” in the financial sense describes a structural restriction, not a one-time action of buying.