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confine

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To confine is to impose limits or restrictions, or to prevent someone from leaving.

(verb)

When you ground your child and don't let him leave his room, this is an example of a situation where you confine your child.
When you limit your paper to arguments in favor of something, this is an example of a situation where you confine your paper to affirmative arguments.

See confine in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a boundary or bounded region; border; limit
Old Poet. confinement
Obsolete a place of confinement

Origin: ME confinies, pl. < OFr confins, pl., a border, boundary < L confinium (pl. confinia), boundary, limit < confinis, bordering on < com-, with + finis, an end: see finish

intransitive verb confined, confining

Rare to border (on) or be contiguous (with or to another region)

Origin: Fr confiner < the n.

transitive verb

to keep within limits; restrict: to confine a talk to ten minutes
to keep shut up, as in prison, in bed because of illness, indoors, etc.

Related Forms:

confinable adjective or confineable

See confine in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb con·fined, con·fin·ing, con·fines

verb, transitive

To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit.
To shut or keep in, especially to imprison.
To restrict in movement: The sick child was confined to bed.

verb, intransitive
Archaic

To border.

noun (kŏnˈfīnˌ)

confines
a. The limits of a space or area; the borders: within the confines of one county.
b. Restraining elements: wanted to escape the confines of corporate politics.
c. Purview; scope: a theory that is well within the confines of science.
a. Archaic A restriction.
b. Obsolete A prison.