Latch Definition

lăch

latched, latches, latching

noun

latches

A fastening for a door or gate, esp. one capable of being worked from either side by means of a lever and consisting of a bar that drops into a notch in a piece attached to the doorjamb or gatepost.

Webster's New World

A spring lock on a door; specif., a night latch.

Webster's New World

A fastening for a window, etc.

Webster's New World

A fastening for a door that has a bar that fits into a notch or slot, and is lifted by a lever or string from either side.

Wiktionary

A flip-flop electronic circuit.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Synonyms:
door latch
catch
hook
bar

Antonyms:

Antonyms:
key

verb

latched, latches, latching

To fasten or close with a latch.

Webster's New World

To have or be closed with a latch.

American Heritage

To shut tightly so that the latch is engaged.

A door too warped to latch.

American Heritage

To catch; lay hold of.

Wiktionary

(obsolete) To smear; to anoint.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

idiom

latch on to

To get hold of; obtain:
latched on to a fortune in the fur trade.
To cling to.

American Heritage

latch on to

to seize or grasp
to comprehend or embrace (an idea, etc.)

Webster's New World

on the latch

fastened by the latch but not locked or bolted

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Latch

Noun

Singular:

latch

Plural:

latches

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Latch

latch on to
latch on to
on the latch

Origin of Latch

Middle English latche (“a latch"), from lacchen (“to seize"), from Old English læċċan (“to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize"), from Proto-Germanic *lakjanÄ…, *lakwijanÄ…, *lakkijanÄ… (“to seize"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lag-, *(s)lagw- (“to take, seize").

From Wiktionary
Middle English latche from lacchen to seize from Old English læccan

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Compare French lécher (“to lick").

From Wiktionary