air lock

¹ American  

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.

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air-lock ² American  

[air-lok] / ˈɛərˌlɒk /

verb (used with object)

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

   to air-lock divers before they descend.

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Etymology

Origin of air lock¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Origin of air-lock²

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Customers still experiencing ongoing problems as isolated issues were likely to be affected by an air lock, SWW said, and those affected should contact it.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2025

Demond pushed his way through a double-door air lock and into a series of chilly storerooms.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2023

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

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

They were standing in a windowless, lightless, cinder- block corridor that had doors at either end: this was the makeshift air lock, the gray zone.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston