unlock

[ uhn-lok ]
See synonyms for unlock on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to undo the lock of (a door, chest, etc.), especially with a key.

  2. to open or release by or as if by undoing a lock.

  1. to open (anything firmly closed or joined): to unlock the jaws.

  2. to lay open; disclose: to unlock the secrets of one's heart.

verb (used without object)
  1. to become unlocked.

Origin of unlock

1
1350–1400; Middle English unloken;see un-2, lock1

Other words from unlock

  • un·lock·a·ble, adjective

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

How to use unlock in a sentence

  • The unlocking of the yard door would apprise us of the entrance of a guard, before the latter could observe Wingie at my cell.

    Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander Berkman
  • As Mr. Worby was unlocking it, Lake said, "Did you ever find anybody locked in here by accident?"

    A Thin Ghost and Others | M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James
  • The tiller is unlocked by simply flicking forward the cylinder with the hand, the locking and unlocking being done in a second.

    Yachting Vol. 2 | Various.
  • When I got to the three log doorsteps I heard them unlocking and unbarring and unbolting.

    Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Complete | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
  • He made the mere unlocking of the door a nerve-racking sound, and stamped in swearing under his breath.

    The Light That Lures | Percy Brebner

British Dictionary definitions for unlock

unlock

/ (ʌnˈlɒk) /


verb
  1. (tr) to unfasten (a lock, door, etc)

  2. (tr) to open, release, or let loose

  1. (tr) to disclose or provide the key to: unlock a puzzle

  2. (intr) to become unlocked

Derived forms of unlock

  • unlockable, adjective

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