latch

[ lach ]
See synonyms for latch on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a device for holding a door, gate, or the like, closed, consisting basically of a bar falling or sliding into a catch, groove, hole, etc.

  2. a breastfeeding baby’s attachment or connection to the mother’s breast: A good, deep latch is important because it allows the infant to get enough milk.

verb (used with object)
  1. to close or fasten with a latch.

  2. to attach (a breastfeeding baby) to the breast: You should know how to properly latch your newborn.

verb (used without object)
  1. to close tightly so that the latch is secured: The door won't latch.

  2. (of a breastfeeding baby) to be or become attached to the breast: Failure to latch can be the result of poor positioning of the baby.

Verb Phrases
  1. latch on,

    • to grab or hold on, as to an object or idea, especially tightly or tenaciously.

    • to include or add in; attach: If we latch the tax on, the bill will come to over $100.

  2. latch onto, Informal.

    • to take possession of; obtain; get.

    • to acquire understanding of; comprehend.

    • to attach oneself to; join in with: The stray dog latched onto the children and wouldn't go home.

Origin of latch

1
First recorded before 950; Middle English lacchen, Old English lǣccan “to take hold of, catch, seize”; akin to Greek lázesthai “to take”

Other words from latch

  • re·latch, verb (used with object)

Words Nearby latch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use latch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for latch

latch

/ (lætʃ) /


noun
  1. a fastening for a gate or door that consists of a bar that may be slid or lowered into a groove, hole, etc

  2. a spring-loaded door lock that can be opened by a key from outside

  1. Also called: latch circuit electronics a logic circuit that transfers the input states to the output states when signalled, the output thereafter remaining insensitive to changes in input status until signalled again

verb
  1. to fasten, fit, or be fitted with or as if with a latch

Origin of latch

1
Old English læccan to seize, of Germanic origin; related to Greek lazesthai

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