keep captive

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We have no idea The Matrix Resurrections opens with protagonist Neo living inside a new iteration of the Matrix, a simulated reality designed by machines to keep captive humans docile.

From The Verge • Dec. 23, 2021

But it is hard to question Holst’s premise that, as long as one has zoos, culling helps to keep captive populations genetically robust.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 8, 2017

It’s a somewhat nebulous concept, but it essentially encompasses a number of strategies to keep captive animals engaged.

From Slate • May 18, 2016

The name means Japan Island and is given because Resanof designated it as the place to keep captive Japanese whom he expected to capture through his expedition against the lower Kuril Islands in 1806.

From The Story of Sitka The Historic Outpost of the Northwest Coast by Andrews, Clarence Leroy

I never keep captive birds, but if they were given to me, and I could not refuse, I should do a great deal more for them.

From Birds in Town and Village by Hudson, W. H. (William Henry)