deadbolt
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of deadbolt
Explanation
A deadbolt is a type of lock that you need a key to open. It's very common to have a deadbolt on an apartment door or the front door of a house. When you turn a key in the lock of a deadbolt, the bolt slides in or out of an opening in the door jamb. Deadbolts are considered to be secure locks that are difficult to open without a key, especially when compared to a spring-loaded lock, the kind you see in the center of a doorknob. While spring latches can be pushed back manually, deadbolts can't — which is why they're called deadbolts. They're dead, or unmovable.
Vocabulary lists containing deadbolt
"The Fast and the Fuel-Efficient" and "Teens Open Doors"
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The Sky at Our Feet
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When I Was the Greatest
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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.
For the two months that federal agents have been conducting immigration raids in Minneapolis, Ana, Carlos and their son Luis have locked themselves in at home, feeling trapped behind their own deadbolt.
From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026
Why it's important: MFA is like having a deadbolt in addition to your regular lock.
From Salon • Aug. 27, 2024
The San Francisco-based nonprofit, which began operating the shelter in 2021, claimed it had painted the outside of the hotel and removed deadbolt locks, but no work was actually performed, officials said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2024
After completing temporary repairs in 2020, crews will be making more permanent fixes to the bridge’s center lock, which acts a sort-of deadbolt to hold the two sides of the retractable span together.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 11, 2023
Finally the deadbolt disengages, and I pull the door open, revealing the treasure trove of survival gear.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
