# cage

> English word · Noun · IPA /keɪd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #5,766

## Definitions
1. An enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals.
2. The passenger compartment of a lift.
3. The goal.
4. An automobile.
5. Something that hinders freedom.
6. A prison or prison cell.
7. The area from which competitors throw a discus or hammer.
8. An outer framework of timber, enclosing something within it.
9. A skeleton frame to limit the motion of a loose piece, such as a ball valve.
10. A wirework strainer, used in connection with pumps and pipes.
11. The drum on which the rope is wound in a hoisting whim.
12. The protective wire mask at the front of a helmet.
13. A regular graph that has as few vertices as possible for its girth.
14. In killer sudoku puzzles, an irregularly-shaped group of cells that must contain a set of unique digits adding up to a certain total, in addition to the usual constraints of sudoku.

## Etymology
From Middle English cage, from Old French cage, from Latin cavea. Doublet of cadge and cavea and related to jail.

## Easily confused with
- **CE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-ce)
- **CG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cg)
- **can** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-can)
- **car** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-car)
- **cat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cat)
- **cap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cap)
- **cam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cam)
- **cal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cal)
- **cue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cue)
- **cas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cas)
- **che** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-che)
- **CGI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cgi)
- **Cao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cao)
- **Coe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-coe)
- **cog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cog)
- **cee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cee)
- **Cai** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cai)
- **CME** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cme)
- **CTE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cte)
- **CBE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cage-vs-cbe)

## Common misspellings (5)
`acge`, `caeg`, `cagge`, `ccage`, `cgae`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cage