headlock

American

[hed-lok] / ˈhɛdˌlɒk /

noun

Wrestling.

a hold in which a wrestler locks an arm around the opponent's head.

headlock British

/ ˈhɛdˌlɒk /

noun

a wrestling hold in which a wrestler locks his opponent's head between the crook of his elbow and the side of his body

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of headlock

First recorded in 1900–05; head + lock ¹

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.

From behind, a bystander—the man Australian officials identified as Ahmed—bear-tackled the assailant, put him in a headlock and stripped his gun from him.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025

A man having his hair cut leapt out of the barber's chair and ran to help a police officer who was being wrestled to the ground in a headlock.

From BBC • Dec. 20, 2024

The Warriors have gone 7-5 without Green, who also was suspended for five games in November for placing Minnesota center Rudy Gobert in a headlock.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 6, 2024

We like to keep history as we’ve learned it in a headlock, to make sure it doesn’t shift or change.

From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2023

From here, it was an easy headlock into an even easier pin.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023