air lock

¹

noun

1. Civil Engineering.,  an airtight chamber permitting passage to or from a space, as in a caisson, in which the air is kept under pressure.

2. the impedance in the functioning of a pump or a system of piping caused by the presence of an air bubble; vapor lock.

air-lock

²

[air-lok]

verb (used with object)

1. to place in or confine to an air lock.

   to air-lock divers before they descend.

Word History and Origins

Origin of air lock¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Origin of air lock²

First recorded in 1855–60