locksmith
Americannoun
-
locksmiths
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of locksmith
1200–50; Middle English loksmith (first attested as surname). See lock 1, smith
Explanation
If your job is installing locks on people's houses and fixing their broken locks, you can call yourself a locksmith. A locksmith knows all about locks; she makes them, puts them on doors, and repairs them. If you've ever locked yourself out of your house, the person to call for help is a locksmith. When you need a new copy of your apartment key, you can also visit a locksmith. The word comes from lock and smith, from the Old English smið, "one who works with metal."
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.
See Examples For:
He said he’s now considering switching to a different career, such as locksmith or watchmaker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
On a recent wintry night, Nodler was excited to spot two familiar guests at a table enjoying chicken schnitzel and homemade milk bread: the butcher shop owner and town locksmith.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
The locksmith then drilled the lock and replaced the broken parts while their grandson waited with them.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026
A couple initially expecting to pay less than £50 for a locksmith ended up victims of a "bait-and-switch scam" which ended up costing them more than £5,000, an investigation has found.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026
Fourteen-year-old Louie was in a locksmith shop when he heard someone say that if you put any key in any lock, it has a one-in-fifty chance of fitting.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
But after one of their locksmiths arrived at the property, the cost increased tenfold within minutes.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026
By determining protein structure, scientists can create blueprints that guide development of more effective medications, much like locksmiths designing keys to fit into specific locks.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024
“They also turned off the internet, shut off security cameras, and proceeded to have locksmiths begin changing all door locks at the hotel,” the MOM CA group says in the lawsuit.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2023
It is page upon black-and-white page of data: ratings of plumbers, roofers, house painters, locksmiths, doctors, fence builders, nursing homes, etc., etc.
From Washington Post ● May 24, 2022
Upstairs, locksmiths and buttonhole cutters look through dusty windows on the L, which, under some dim influence of the moon, tosses past the buildings here its human tide, up and down, night and morning.
From Hints to Pilgrims by Charles Stephen Brooks
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.
