Civil Engineering. an airtight chamber permitting passage to or from a space, as in a caisson, in which the air is kept under pressure.
the impedance in the functioning of a pump or a system of piping caused by the presence of an air bubble; vapor lock.
First recorded in 1855–60
First recorded in 1855–60
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Anticipation and tension grew as the crew prepared to open the hatch on the craft that has no air lock, or doorway between the vacuum outside and the rest of the spacecraft.
From BBC • Sep. 12, 2024
After a hose from a ceiling pipe is connected to a valve on his suit — “you inflate like the Michelin Man,” he said — he passes through an air lock and into his lab.
From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2021
Do you need to wash everything, wear gloves, and/or create a makeshift air lock where the Instacart delivery person can drop your bags?
From Slate • Mar. 18, 2020
When he attempted to reenter the air lock leading to the space capsule, Mr. Leonov could not climb through the hatch.
From Washington Post • Oct. 12, 2019
There were no lights in the air lock; it was dim, almost dark.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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.
