confine

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit.
2. v. To shut or keep in, especially to imprison.
3. v. To restrict in movement: The sick child was confined to bed.
4. v. Archaic To border.
5. n. The limits of a space or area; the borders: within the confines of one county.
6. n. Restraining elements: wanted to escape the confines of corporate politics.
7. n. Purview; scope: a theory that is well within the confines of science.
8. n. Archaic A restriction.
9. n. Obsolete A prison.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Bordering; having a common boundary; adjacent; contiguous.
2. n. A boundary-line or limit; bound; border; precinct.
3. n. That part of a territory which is at or near the border; the frontier: used generally in the plural, and often figuratively: as, the confines of France or of Scotland.
4. n. Territory; region; district.
5. n. An inhabitant of a contiguous district; a neighbor.
6. n. A place of confinement; a prison.
7. n. In geom. of n-dimensions, that which corresponds to a closed volume in three dimensions. Synonyms Bounds, Border, etc. See boundary.
8. To have a common boundary; border; abut; be in contact: followed by on or with.
9. To restrict within bounds; limit; inclose; bound; hence, imprison; immure; shut up.
10. Synonyms To bound, circumscribe, restrict, incarcerate.

Wiktionary

1. v. transitive To restrict; to keep within bounds; to shut or keep in a limited space or area
2. n. Limit.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To restrain within limits; to restrict; to limit; to bound; to shut up; to inclose; to keep close.
2. v. obsolete To have a common boundary; to border; to lie contiguous; to touch; -- followed by on or with.
3. n. Common boundary; border; limit; -- used chiefly in the plural.
4. n. obsolete Apartment; place of restraint; prison.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. close in
2. v. deprive of freedom; take into confinement
3. v. restrict or confine,
4. v. to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement
5. v. place limits on (extent or access)
6. v. prevent from leaving or from being removed