/kən'faɪn; kən`faɪn/
v
1 [Tn, Tn.pr] ~ sb/sth (in/to sth) keep (a person or an animal) in a restricted space 限制在某空间以内
*Is it cruel to confine a bird in a cage? 把鸟关在笼子里残忍不残忍?
* After her operation, she was confined to bed for a week. 她手术之後已卧床一星期了.
* I should hate to be confined in an office all day. 我讨厌整天关在办公室里.
2 [Tn.pr] ~ sb/sth to sth restrict or keep sb/sth within certain limits 将某人[某事物]限制在一定范围以内
*I wish the speaker would confine himself to the subject. 我希望演讲者不要离题.
* Confine your criticism to matters you understand. 发表评论时不要超出自己所了解的事情的范围.

v [T]

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1【limit】
2【keep somebody in a place】
3【stop something spreading】
4【stay in one place】

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[Date: 1500-1600; Language: French;Origin: confiner, from Latin confinis; CONFINES]
【LIMIT】
to keep someone or something within the limits of a particular activity or subject
= restrictconfine sth to sth
　The police cadet's duties were confined to taking statements from the crowd.
　We confined our study to 10 cases.
confine yourself to (doing) sth
　Owen did not confine himself to writing only one type of poem.
【KEEP SOMEBODY IN A PLACE】
to keep someone in a place that they cannot leave, such as a prison
confine sb to sth
　Any soldier who leaves his post will be confined to barracks (=made to stay in the barracks) .
be confined in sth
　He was allegedly confined in a narrow, dark room for two months.
【STOP SOMETHING SPREADING】
to stop something bad from spreading to another place
confine sth to sth
　Firefighters managed to confine the fire to the living room.
【STAY IN ONE PLACE】 [usually passive]
if you are confined to a place, you have to stay in that place, especially because you are ill
　Vaughan is confined to a wheelchair .
　She's confined to bed with flu.