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lock1

[lok] /lɒk/
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
1.
a device for securing a door, gate, lid, drawer, or the like in position when closed, consisting of a bolt or system of bolts propelled and withdrawn by a mechanism operated by a key, dial, etc.
2.
a contrivance for fastening or securing something.
3.
  1. the mechanism that explodes the charge; gunlock.
  2. safety (def 4).
4.
any device or part for stopping temporarily the motion of a mechanism.
5.
an enclosed chamber in a canal, dam, etc., with gates at each end, for raising or lowering vessels from one level to another by admitting or releasing water.
6.
an air lock or decompression chamber.
7.
complete and unchallenged control; an unbreakable hold:
The congresswoman has a lock on the senatorial nomination.
8.
Slang. someone or something certain of success; sure thing:
He's a lock to win the championship.
9.
Wrestling. any of various holds, especially a hold secured on the arm, leg, or head:
leg lock.
10.
Horology. (in an escapement) the overlap between a tooth of an escape wheel and the surface of the pallet locking it.
11.
Metalworking. a projection or recession in the mating face of a forging die.
verb (used with object)
12.
to fasten or secure (a door, window, building, etc.) by the operation of a lock or locks.
13.
to shut in a place fastened by a lock or locks, as for security or restraint.
14.
to make fast or immovable by or as if by a lock:
He locked the steering wheel on his car.
15.
to make fast or immovable, as by engaging parts:
to lock the wheels of a wagon.
16.
to join or unite firmly by interlinking or intertwining:
to lock arms.
17.
to hold fast in an embrace:
She was locked in his arms.
18.
to move (a ship) by means of a lock or locks, as in a canal (often followed by through, in, out, down, or up).
19.
to furnish with locks, as a canal.
verb (used without object)
20.
to become locked:
This door locks with a key.
21.
to become fastened, fixed, or interlocked:
gears that lock into place.
22.
to go or pass by means of a lock or locks, as a vessel.
23.
to construct locks in waterways.
Verb phrases
24.
lock in,
  1. to commit unalterably:
    to lock in the nomination of the party's candidates.
  2. (of an investor) to be unable or unwilling to sell or shift securities.
25.
lock off, to enclose (a waterway) with a lock.
26.
lock on, to track or follow a target or object automatically by radar or other electronic means.
27.
lock out,
  1. to keep out by or as if by a lock.
  2. to subject (employees) to a lockout.
28.
lock up,
  1. to imprison for a crime.
  2. Printing. to make (type) immovable in a chase by securing the quoins.
  3. to fasten or secure with a lock or locks.
  4. to lock the doors of a house, automobile, etc.
  5. to fasten or fix firmly, as by engaging parts.
Idioms
29.
lock horns, to come into conflict; clash:
to lock horns with a political opponent.
30.
lock, stock, and barrel, completely; entirely; including every part, item, or facet, no matter how small or insignificant:
We bought the whole business, lock, stock, and barrel.
31.
under lock and key, securely locked up:
The documents were under lock and key.
Origin of lock1
Middle English
Old English
900
before 900; Middle English; Old English loc fastening, bar; cognate with Middle Low German lok, Old High German loh, Old Norse lok a cover, lid, Gothic -luk in usluk opening; akin to Old English lūcan to shut
Related forms
lockless, adjective
self-locking, adjective
well-locked, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2016.
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Examples from the Web for lock out
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples

  • The boys heard the door closed and locked, and the sound seemed to lock out another hope for them.

    Jack Harkaway and His Son's Escape From the Brigand's of Greece Bracebridge Hemyng

  • No ordinary person can shut his door to lock out the rest of the world.

    Folkways William Graham Sumner

  • The youth now proposed to use this dagger as a saw to cut the lock out from the wooden door.

    The Works of Honor de Balzac Honor de Balzac

  • Of my methods you may not learn much, for to those beyond the pale we lock out secrets.

    The Recipe for Diamonds Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne

  • It involves no dispute of the right to strike or lock out, nor of the closed or open shop.

    Herbert Hoover Vernon Kellogg

  • It required something heavier than that iron door, to lock out the sympathies of two hearts that had grown old in affection.

    Fashion and Famine Ann S. Stephens

  • Words were wasted breath; the time to strike or to lock out your employees was when you were ready and your opponent was not.

    How To Write Special Feature Articles Willard Grosvenor Bleyer
British Dictionary definitions for lock out

lock out

verb (transitive, adverb)
1.
to prevent from entering by locking a door
2.
to prevent (employees) from working during an industrial dispute, as by closing a factory
noun
3.
the closing of a place of employment by an employer, in order to bring pressure on employees to agree to terms

lock1

/lɒk/
noun
1.
a device fitted to a gate, door, drawer, lid, etc, to keep it firmly closed and often to prevent access by unauthorized persons
2.
a similar device attached to a machine, vehicle, etc, to prevent use by unauthorized persons: a steering lock
3.
  1. a section of a canal or river that may be closed off by gates to control the water level and the raising and lowering of vessels that pass through it
  2. (as modifier): a lock gate
4.
the jamming, fastening, or locking together of parts
5.
(Brit) the extent to which a vehicle's front wheels will turn to the right or left: this car has a good lock
6.
a mechanism that detonates the charge of a gun
7.
(US & Canadian, informal) a person or thing that is certain to win or to succeed: she is a lock for the Academy Award
8.
lock, stock, and barrel, completely; entirely
9.
any wrestling hold in which a wrestler seizes a part of his opponent's body and twists it or otherwise exerts pressure upon it
10.
(rugby) Also called lock forward. either of two players who make up the second line of the scrum and apply weight to the forwards in the front line
11.
a gas bubble in a hydraulic system or a liquid bubble in a pneumatic system that stops or interferes with the fluid flow in a pipe, capillary, etc: an air lock
verb
12.
to fasten (a door, gate, etc) or (of a door, etc) to become fastened with a lock, bolt, etc, so as to prevent entry or exit
13.
(transitive) to secure (a building) by locking all doors, windows, etc
14.
to fix or become fixed together securely or inextricably
15.
to become or cause to become rigid or immovable: the front wheels of the car locked
16.
(when transitive, often passive) to clasp or entangle (someone or each other) in a struggle or embrace
17.
(transitive) to furnish (a canal) with locks
18.
(transitive) to move (a vessel) through a system of locks
19.
lock horns, (esp of two equally matched opponents) to become engaged in argument or battle
20.
lock the stable door after the horse has bolted, lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen, to take precautions after harm has been done
See also lock on to, lock out, lock up
Derived Forms
lockable, adjective
Word Origin
Old English loc; related to Old Norse lok

lock2

/lɒk/
noun
1.
a strand, curl, or cluster of hair
2.
a tuft or wisp of wool, cotton, etc
3.
(pl) (mainly literary) hair, esp when curly or fine
Word Origin
Old English loc; related to Old Frisian lok, Old Norse lokkr lock of wool
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for lock out

lock

n.

"means of fastening," Old English loc "bolt, fastening; barrier, enclosure," from Proto-Germanic *lukan (cf. Old Norse lok "fastening, lock," Gothic usluks "opening," Old High German loh "dungeon," German Loch "opening, hole," Dutch luik "shutter, trapdoor"). "The great diversity of meaning in the Teut. words seems to indicate two or more independent but formally identical substantival formations from the root."

The Old English sense "barrier, enclosure" led to the specific meaning "barrier on a river" (c.1300), and the more specific sense "gate and sluice system on a water channel used as a means of raising and lowering boats" (1570s). Wrestling sense is from c.1600. Phrase under lock and key attested from early 14c.

"tress of hair," Old English locc "lock of hair, curl," from Proto-Germanic *lukkoz (cf. Old Norse lokkr, Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch lok, Old High German loc, German Locke "lock of hair"), from PIE *lugnos-, perhaps related to Greek lygos "pliant twig, withe," Lithuanian lugnas "flexible."

v.

"to fasten with a lock," c.1300, from Old English lucan "to lock, to close" (class II strong verb; past tense leac, past participle locen), from the same root as lock (n.1). Cognate with Old Frisian luka "to close," Old Saxon lukan, Old High German luhhan, Old Norse luka, Gothic galukan. Meaning "to embrace closely" is from 1610s. Related: Locked; locking. Slang lock horns "fight" is from 1839.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang definitions & phrases for lock out

lock

verb

To be seemingly paralyzed and helpless; choke: He locked on Letterman (1990s+)

Related Terms

lockdown

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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lock out in the Bible

The Hebrews usually secured their doors by bars of wood or iron (Isa. 45:2; 1 Kings 4:3). These were the locks originally used, and were opened and shut by large keys applied through an opening in the outside (Judg. 3:24). (See KEY.) Lock of hair (Judg. 16:13, 19; Ezek. 8:3; Num. 6:5, etc.).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms and Phrases with lock out

lock out

1.
Keep out, prevent from entering. For example, Karen was so angry at her brother that she locked him out of the house. [ Late 1500s ]
Shakespeare had it in The Comedy of Errors (4:1): “For locking me out of my doors by day.”
2.
Withhold work from employees during a labor dispute, as in The company threatened to lock out the strikers permanently. [ Mid-1800s ]

lock

also see:
under lock and key
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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