coop
coop — noun
- coopsingular
- coopsplural
1. a small building or wire cage where chickens or other small birds are kept safe
a small building or wire cage where chickens or other small birds are kept safe at night.
Every evening Luis locks the hens inside the coop before dark.
Zara built a wooden coop in the backyard to raise six chickens.
coop + built + in the backyard — typical location and construction
The fox broke into the coop and took three of our hens.
Talia cleaned the coop and spread fresh straw on the floor.
clean the coop — common maintenance collocation
A good coop protects birds from bad weather and wild animals.
- chicken coop
- hen coop
- build a coop
- clean the coop
- coop door
- inside the coop
Grammar Patterns
coop + for + animals
Usage Note
Commonly combined with 'chicken' (chicken coop) and 'hen' (hen coop), though 'coop' alone implies a chicken enclosure.
Common Mistakes
coop — verb
- cooppresent simple I / you / we / they
- coops3rd person singular
- cooping-ing form
- coopedpast simple
1. to force a person or animal to stay inside a place that is too small, uncomforta
to force a person or animal to stay inside a place that is too small, uncomfortable, or closed, often for so long that they feel annoyed or restless.
After three days of rain, the children were cooped up inside the house with nothing to do.
passive: be cooped up inside [place]
Kofi hates flying because he feels cooped up in the small seat for hours.
The puppy was cooped up in a tiny crate all day while its owner was at work.
Jia's doctor told her not to coop herself up in her room all weekend.
active voice: coop + reflexive pronoun + up + in
We cooped the chickens up in a small shed while we repaired the fence.
- cooped up
- cooped up inside
- cooped up in
- feel cooped up
- get cooped up
- free
release from restriction
Grammar Patterns
be cooped up + in/inside + place
Usage Note
Far more common in the passive voice (be cooped up) than in active constructions. The particle 'up' is idiomatic and very frequent ('cooped up'). The active form without 'up' (e.g., 'to coop someone inside') sounds markedly formal or old-fashioned.
Common Mistakes
2. to place birds such as chickens into a coop and keep them there for the night or
to place birds such as chickens into a coop and keep them there for the night or for protection.
The farmer coops the ducks every evening at sunset to keep them safe from foxes.
active use: coop [birds] at [time]
Raj coops the laying hens in the large coop near the barn.
The chicks are cooped in a warm brooder until they grow feathers.
Deepa forgot to coop the geese last night and one wandered into the road.
Before the storm hit, Priya cooped the geese in the reinforced coop behind the barn.
- coop the chickens
- coop the birds
- coop the ducks
- coop at night
- release
let birds out of the coop
Grammar Patterns
coop + animal + in/inside + container
Usage Note
Literal sense — refers strictly to placing birds inside a coop. Distinguish from sense 1 (CONFINE TIGHTLY), which applies to any living being in any small space and usually carries a negative emotional tone. In this sense the subject is typically a farmer or poultry keeper, and the object is a bird.