a box or inclosure, wholly or partly of openwork, in wood or metal, used for confining birds or other animals.-a place of confinement for malefactors-an outer framework of timber, inclosing something within it; as, the cage of a staircase.-a skeleton frame to limit the motion of a loose piece, as a ball valve.-a wirework strainer, used in connection with pumps and pipes.-the box, bucket, or inclosed platform of a lift or elevator; a cagelike structure moving in a shaft.-the drum on which the rope is wound in a hoisting whim.-the catcher's wire mask.-to confine in, or as in, a cage; to shut up or confine.