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.

Mr Byrne said he had been locking up his conservatory doors when he noticed something move through a set of blinds at the window.

From BBC • Sep. 19, 2023

Nearby, freshman Tiana Lopez said her brother, Peter, a football player at Kent-Meridian, had been locking himself in the bathroom over the past few weeks to practice his gospel-choir parts.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 15, 2018

For months, the computer system had been locking up, producing what the crew deemed the “blue screen of death.”

From New York Times • Jul. 23, 2010

We had been locking horns with senior U.S. officials for years by that point.

From Newsweek

Meanwhile the old man had been locking the postern, and was now leaning against it with all his bodily strength, and was gasping and grunting to get the great key out of the rusty lock.

From Weird Tales. Vol. I by Hoffmann, E. T. A. (Ernst Theodor Amadeus)