1 C1 idiomatic formal
To confine a person or animal within a small, restricted space, often for a long time.
"The elderly count had been mewed up in that tower for the better part of a decade."
separable
mew up
C1 formal separable transitive
To confine or shut a person or animal in a small, enclosed space.
In plain English
To keep someone or something locked up in a small place.
What does "mew up" mean?
One main meaning — here's how to use it.
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
A 'mew' was a cage where hawks were kept; 'up' implies full enclosure. To mew up: to put in a hawk's cage.
Actually means
To keep someone or something locked up in a small place.
Usage tip
Rare and highly literary. Derived from 'mew', a cage for hawks during moulting. More likely to be encountered in historical fiction or literary writing than in modern speech. The more common equivalent is 'coop up'.
Words that pair with "mew up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
prisoner animal house room cage apartment
How to conjugate "mew up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
mew up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
mews up
he/she/it
Past simple
mewed up
yesterday
Past participle
mewed up
have + pp
-ing form
mewing up
continuous
Hear "mew up" in the wild
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Other ways to say "mew up"
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