1.
to lock up; to confine; to shut in
To confine someone or something in an enclosed space by closing or locking doors, gates, or other barriers. Also used figuratively for trapping feelings, memories, or abstract things.
犬を部屋に閉じ込めた。
I shut the dog in the room.
悲しみを心の奥に閉じ込めている。
She is keeping her sadness locked away deep in her heart.
台風で空港に閉じ込められ、二日間動けなかった。
We were trapped at the airport by the typhoon and couldn't move for two days.
An ichidan (る) verb. The passive form 閉じ込められる is very common, describing being trapped or confined against one's will.
PATTERNS:
- ～を～に閉じ込める (to shut ~ in ~)
- ～に閉じ込められる (to be trapped/confined in ~)
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 部屋に閉じ込める (to lock in a room)
- 心に閉じ込める (to lock away in one's heart)
- 雪で閉じ込められる (to be snowed in)
RELATED:
The intransitive counterpart is 閉じこもる (to shut oneself in; to become a recluse).