lock Hear it!

lock¹ Definition

lock (läk)

noun

  1. a mechanical device furnished with a bolt and, usually, a spring, for fastening a door, strongbox, etc. by means of a key or combination
  2. anything that fastens something else and prevents it from opening, turning, etc.
  3. a locking together; jam
  4. an enclosed part of a canal, waterway, etc. equipped with gates so that the level of the water can be changed to raise or lower boats from one level to another
  5. the mechanism of a firearm used to explode the ammunition charge; gunlock
  6. air lock (sense )
  7. Slang a certainty; sure thing our team is a lock to win the title
  8. Wrestling a hold in which a part of the opponent's body is firmly gripped armlock

Etymology: ME < OE loc, a bolt, bar, enclosure, prison, akin to Ger loch, a hole, ON lok, a lid, prob. < IE base *leug-, to bend > Gr lygos, supple twig, L luctȧri, to struggle

transitive verb

  1. to fasten (a door, trunk, etc.) by means of a lock
  2. to keep from going in or out; shut (up, in or out); confine locked in jail
  3. to fit closely; link; intertwine to lock arms
  4. to embrace tightly
  5. to jam or force together so as to make immovable locked gears, locked brakes
  6. to put in a fixed position a throttle locked in the idle position
  7. ☆ to equip (a canal, etc.) with a lock or locks
  8. to move or pass (a ship) through a lock
  9. Printing to fasten (type elements) in a chase or on the bed of a press by means of quoins: often with up

intransitive verb

  1. to become locked
  2. to be capable of being locked
  3. to intertwine or interlock; link together
  4. to close tightly and firmly his jaws locked
  5. to jam, as gears
  6. to pass through the locks of a canal

lock¹ Idioms

have a lock on

Slang to be sure of winning, gaining, or controlling the other party has a lock on that Senate seat

lock away

to store or safeguard in a locked box, container, etc.

lock on

Aeron. to track and automatically follow a target, as by radar

lock out

  1. to shut out by or as by locking the door against
  2. to keep (workers) from a place of employment in seeking to force terms upon them

lock, stock, and barrel

Etymology: with reference to the main parts of a gun

Informal completely; entirely

lock up

  1. to fasten the doors of (a house, etc.) by means of locks
  2. to enclose or store in a locked container
  3. to put in jail
  4. to make certain to have the result one wants to have an election locked up

under lock and key

locked up; safely put away

lock² Definition

lock (läk)

noun

  1. a curl, tress, or ringlet of hair
  2. Old Poet. the hair of the head
  3. a tuft of wool, cotton, etc.

Etymology: ME lokke < OE loc (akin to Ger locke): basic sense “a bend, twist”: IE base as in lock

lock Synonyms

lock

n.

  1. A device for locking

    hook, catch, latch, bolt, bar, staple, hasp, clinch, bond, fastening, padlock, safety catch, clamp, holdfast, clasp, link, junction, connection, barrier, canal gate, device, fixture, grip, grapple; see also fastener.

    Types of locks include: deadbolt, double-cylinder, single-cylinder, tumbler, pin-tumbler cylinder, sash ward, fine ward, solid ward, lever, safety lever, keyless, combination, cabinet, duplex key, action, rim, mortise, padlock, timelock.

  2. A tuft or ringlet of hair

    tuft, tress, ringlet, bunch, twist, portion of hair, snip, braid, plait; see also curl, hair 1.

under lock and key

locked up, imprisoned, in jail; see confined 3.

lock Synonyms

lock

v.

bolt, bar, clasp, secure; see fasten 1.

lock Usage Examples

Object

  • door: Fire officers had to force a locked door to rescue Danielle, who left the house without her son.
  • horn: But Danny in charge means the con gets messy, so he keeps locking horns with Mickey.
  • gate: A locked gate at the front leads to a passage by the side of the house where there are two rainwater butts.
  • cvars: ETPro, at time of writing anyway, does not further restrict any locked cvars, with the exception of those relating to tracers.
  • nut: Locking wheel nuts require a dedicated adaptor to remove them.
  • mechanism: But most innovative of all is the unique locking mechanism which prevents tool blades from folding during use.

Converse of object

  • steer: Steering lock on the left side of the headstock.
  • pick: That way, no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they're always locking three of them. !

Adjective modifier

  • key-operated: Standard features include green felt shingles to the roof and a quality key-operated door lock.
  • bottom: Emerging out of the railroad tunnel we approach the bottom lock of the six Ashted locks that will take us up to Aston Junction.

Modifies a noun

  • keeper: We had crossed the Severn and Gloucester Canal several times and watched the lock keeper open the lock gates manually for a pleasure yacht.
  • gate: The vertical post farthest from the hanging point of a lock gate.
  • chamber: The south side of the lock chamber is more or less intact.
  • cottage: The design of lock cottages often gives canals a particular identity.

Noun used with modifier

  • mortice: Side doors in detached garages should be fitted with a quality mortice lock to BS 3621 standard.
  • mutex: Public Member Functions void acquire ( ) const; Attempts to acquire the internal mutex lock.
  • staircase: Double Lock A two-rise staircase lock or normal locks placed side by side to increase traffic capacity.
  • rim: Thinner doors will be weakened by fitting mortice locks, so robust deadlocking rim locks should be used.
  • door: Once in place the Home security sliding doors lock prevents an intruder forcing the doors open no matter how determined.

Preposition: in

  • cupboard: No, they're locked in the cupboard to starve for a day, perhaps two.
lock Quotes

Wee Willie Winkie rins through the toun, Up stairs and doun stairs in his nicht-gown, Tirling at the window, crying at the lock, 'Are the weans in their bed, for it's now ten o'clock?'

—Miller,William

Joy, I did lock thee up; but some bad man Hath let thee out again.

—Herbert, George

To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock, Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock, From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!

—Gilbert, Sir W(illiam) S(chwenck)

Lock the door, Lariston, lion of Liddesdale; Lock the door, Lariston, Lowther comes on; The Armstrongs are flying, The widows are crying, The Castletown's burning, and Oliver's gone!

—Hogg,James

Everything presses onöwhilst thou art twisting that lock,ösee! It grows grey; and every time I kiss thy hand to bid adieu, and everyabsence which follows it, are preludes to that eternal separation which we are shortly to make.

—Sterne, Laurence

   Thosewhotalk most abouttheblessings of marriageand the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the claim were broken and the prisoners were left free to choose, the whole social fabric would flyasunder.Youcan't havetheargument both ways.Ifthe prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?

—Shaw, George Bernard

Browse dictionary entries near lock

  1. ‹ loci
  2. ‹ Lochinvar
  3. ‹ lochia
  4. ‹ loch
  5. ‹ locative
  6. ‹ location-based services
  7. ‹ location
  8. ‹ locating
  9. ‹ located
  10. ‹ locate
  1. lock-limit ›
  2. lock step ›
  3. lock-step option ›
  4. lock stitch ›
  5. lock up ›
  6. lockage ›
  7. lockbox ›
  8. lockdown ›
  9. Locke ›
  10. locked ›