lock out
Britishverb
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to prevent from entering by locking a door
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to prevent (employees) from working during an industrial dispute, as by closing a factory
noun
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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.”
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Withhold work from employees during a labor dispute, as in The company threatened to lock out the strikers permanently . [Mid-1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At this point, there is virtually no doubt that baseball’s team owners are going to lock out the players after this year’s World Series.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Mikaela Shiffrin was in a league of her own in the last women's World Cup slalom before the Winter Olympics on Sunday to lock out a record ninth title in the discipline.
From Barron's • Jan. 25, 2026
England would probably prefer to get Australia from pot two, but that would lock out lower-ranked Asian countries from pots three and four.
From BBC • Dec. 4, 2025
The trio’s ultimate goal is to turn the Honmoon gold, which would lock out the demon realm for all time.
From Salon • Jul. 11, 2025
I hear her slide the lock out of the way, and the door swings open to reveal a puffy, tear-stained Fuchsia.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
