confine

/ˈkän-ˌfīn/

Middle English confynyes, borrowed from Latin confīnia, plural of confīnium "common boundary, limit, border," from confīnis "having a common boundary" (from con- com--fīnis, adjective derivative of fīnis "boundary, limit, ending") + -ium, suffix of compounded nouns

noun

  1. something (such as borders or walls) that encloses; also : something that restrains

  2. scope

  3. restriction

outside the confines of the office or hospital

verb

  1. border

  2. to hold within a location

  3. imprison

limit restrict circumscribe confine mean to set bounds for. limit implies setting a point or line (as in time, space, speed, or degree) beyond which something cannot or is not permitted to go. restrict suggests a narrowing or tightening or restraining within or as if within an encircling boundary.