1. the act of confining someone or something in a restricted space
2. a historical practice of kidnapping voters and holding them until after an election
Usage: historical; political

1. present participle of coop; confining or shutting up in a small space

Examples

• The farmer was cooping the chickens for the night.
• She felt like her parents were cooping her up in the house all summer.
• The cooping of the birds made them restless and agitated.
• Political cooping was a serious problem in 19th-century elections.
• The children complained about being cooped up indoors during the storm.
• The cooping practice involved holding voters in basements until polls closed.