lockout
Americannoun
-
lockouts
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lockout
First recorded in 1850–55; noun use of verb phrase lock out
Explanation
A lockout is a company's response to workers who are disputing conditions or planning a strike. During a lockout, managers don't allow workers to come to work until they agree to the company's terms of employment. A lockout is sort of the opposite of a strike. During a strike, employees refuse to work until management agrees to compromise with them on issues like wages and working conditions. During a lockout, the company refuses to allow workers access to the workplace until they settle for the terms the owners and managers want to enforce. Sometimes just the threat of a lockout is enough to suppress protests and strikes.
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.
See Examples For:
With the current Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire about a month after the World Series, owners are all but certain to initiate a lockout that could threaten the 2027 season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Meyer said he meant that, if a lockout extended into 2028, the players would not play in the Olympics that year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Should competing platforms adopt equivalent commitments, the overnight lockout would widen to 10 pm to 7 am and the daily allowance would fall to 60 minutes per app, capped at two hours in total.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Permission to stay can be terminated with appropriate notice, typically 10 days, although you cannot use threats, force, or an unlawful lockout.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Once the lockout was engaged, you couldn’t disable it for two months.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Major leaguers and fans have weathered five player strikes and four owner lockouts since 1972.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
Sami Pajari finished 46sec behind to complete the podium and make Toyota the first manufacturer since Citroen in 2010 to claim back-to-back podium lockouts in the WRC.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
The Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations Labor Action Tracker logged 424 work stoppages — which includes 417 strikes and seven lockouts — involving approximately 224,000 workers in 2022.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 28, 2023
The Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations Labor Action Tracker logged 424 work stoppages - which includes 417 strikes and seven lockouts - involving approximately 224,000 workers in 2022.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 28, 2023
In the month of May alone, unions across the nation battled with employers in 413 strikes and lockouts.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
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.
