airlock
Britishnoun
-
a bubble in a pipe causing an obstruction or stoppage to the flow
-
an airtight chamber with regulated air pressure used to gain access to a space that has air under pressure
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.
The weekend-to-work transition became less painful, too: Mondays were like an airlock between my weekend downtime and my workweek of meetings and calls.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026
Once the external gate of the airlock had opened, it was reported the taxi drove off down the road past reporters.
From BBC • Aug. 21, 2025
Due to the lack of an airlock on the Crew Dragon, the 13-foot-wide capsule will be depressurized and exposed to space during the walk.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2024
The moment that struck her the most was leaving the airlock for underwater space walk simulation when the instructor said, “Welcome to space.”
From Seattle Times • Apr. 22, 2024
That sped things up a lot because the airlock takes about ten minutes to get through.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
