Word · CEFR B2 · Frequency #2898
confine
限制；局限；禁闭
to restrict someone or something to a particular area, scope, or set of limits; to keep within bounds
- 1.
To restrict (someone or something) to a particular scope or area; to keep in or within certain bounds.
将(某人或某物)限制在特定范围或区域内；保持在某些界限内。
将(某人或某物)限制在特定范围或区域内；保持在某些界限内。；限制；使不外出；禁闭；邻接
In use
The doctor confined him to bed for a week.
The prisoners are confined to their cells.
This rule confines our activities to certain hours.
confine sb/sth to sth
常用于将人或物限制在某个空间或范围内。
The doctors confined him to bed for a week.
医生把他限制在床上一个星期。
confine oneself to sth
表示自我约束，专注于某事物。
She confined herself to discussing only the main points.
她只讨论要点。
be confined to sth
被动形式，常指被限制在某个区域。
The fire was confined to the kitchen.
火势被控制在厨房内。
Verb forms
base confine · third person confines · -ing confining · past confined · past participle confined
限制；禁闭
Common mistakes
The doctor confined the patient from leaving.The doctor confined the patient to the hospital.
Confine 是及物动词，搭配介词 to 表示限制在某范围内，而 prevent/stop 才用 from。常见错误是混淆 confine 与 prevent 的介词搭配。
He confined to his house during the lockdown.He confined himself to his house during the lockdown.
Confine 作‘限制自己’时需用反身代词 (confine oneself to)，不可省略宾语；若表示被动则用 be confined to。常见缺宾语错误。
Connections
Collocations
- confine to
- 限制在...范围内
- The doctor confined him to bed for a week.医生让他卧床一周。
- confine within
- 限制在...之内
- The discussion was confined within narrow limits.讨论被限制在狭窄的范围内。
- confine in
- 关押在...中
- The prisoner was confined in a small cell.囚犯被关押在一个小牢房里。
- be confined to
- 局限于，被限制在
- The damage was confined to a few buildings.损失仅限于几栋建筑。
- confine oneself to
- 把自己局限于
- She confined herself to speaking only when necessary.她只限于必要时才说话。
- confine attention to
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记confine为困罚，如同困住并惩罚，表示禁闭。
Context & Register
语域：neutral 常见场景：正式书面、医学、法律 作为动词，'confine' 多用于正式或书面语境，表示限制自由或活动范围，常见于医学（如 confine to bed）、法律（如 confine to prison）等场景。在日常口语中较少使用，更常用的同义词是 'restrict'。
Pronunciation & Spelling
All these words share the ending '-ine' pronounced /aɪn/, which rhymes with the stressed syllable of 'confine' (/kənˈfaɪn/). Be cautious of lookalikes like 'engine' (/ˈɛndʒɪn/) or 'imagine' (/ɪˈmædʒɪn/) that have different vowel sounds.
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 2，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.