Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A person confined indoors by illness or disability.
  • adjective Confined to a home or hospital, as by illness.
  • adjective Disposed to avoid social contact; excessively withdrawn or introverted.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An invalid, cripple, or convalescent who is confined to the house for a long time.
  • noun In physical geography, a narrow part of a valley which is elsewhere broadly open.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Confined to a location, as by infirmity or illness.
  • adjective Introverted.
  • noun A person confined to a location, as by illness or infirmity.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective confined usually by illness
  • adjective somewhat introverted
  • noun someone who is incapacitated by a chronic illness or injury

Etymologies

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