penned in

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Though they were penned in and ruthlessly pursued, their mastery of the Sierra Madre made them nearly untouchable.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

At the event, Sanford sang a song she penned in 2011 called, “Acorn,” which was inspired by the grandeur of oak trees and what they symbolize in nature.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2026

The manuscript page was penned in 1527 and is one of 15 pages thought to have been swiped from Mexico's national archives between 1985 and 1993, the US investigatory agency said.

From BBC • Aug. 14, 2025

It might take a while, but they had him penned in, they thought.

From New York Times • Sep. 16, 2023

It was one thing for Gogol to be the name penned in calligraphy on his high school diploma, and printed below his picture in the yearbook, he’d begun.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri