latch

[lach]

noun

1. a device for holding a door, gate, or the like, closed, consisting basically of a bar falling or sliding into a catch, groove, hole, etc.

2. a breastfeeding baby’s attachment or connection to the mother’s breast.

   A good, deep latch is important because it allows the infant to get enough milk.

verb (used with object)

1. to close or fasten with a latch.

2. to attach (a breastfeeding baby) to the breast.

   You should know how to properly latch your newborn.

verb (used without object)

1. to close tightly so that the latch is secured.

   The door won't latch.

2. (of a breastfeeding baby) to be or become attached to the breast.

   Failure to latch can be the result of poor positioning of the baby.

verb phrase

1. latch onto

   1. to take possession of; obtain; get.

   2. to acquire understanding of; comprehend.

   3. to attach oneself to; join in with.

      The stray dog latched onto the children and wouldn't go home.

2. latch on

   1. to grab or hold on, as to an object or idea, especially tightly or tenaciously.

   2. to include or add in; attach.

      If we latch the tax on, the bill will come to over $100.

latch

/ lætʃ /

noun

1. a fastening for a gate or door that consists of a bar that may be slid or lowered into a groove, hole, etc

2. a spring-loaded door lock that can be opened by a key from outside

3. Also called: latch circuit. electronics a logic circuit that transfers the input states to the output states when signalled, the output thereafter remaining insensitive to changes in input status until signalled again

verb

1. to fasten, fit, or be fitted with or as if with a latch

Other Word Forms

• relatch verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of latch¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English lacchen, Old English lǣccan “to take hold of, catch, seize”; akin to Greek lázesthai “to take”

Word History and Origins

Origin of latch¹

Old English læccan to seize, of Germanic origin; related to Greek lazesthai

Example Sentences

On the other hand, missing acts of foul play will also be latched on by coaches and supporters.

Read more on BBC

Others may have just latched onto an emerging trend for attention.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

After initially winning another aerial battle, full-back Blair Murray - playing against the land of his birth - latched onto a clever Tomos Williams chip before the ball was moved for Rogers to cross.

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All of that leaves investors latching onto Williams’s language—not because it is definitive, but because it is one of the few available signals before the Fed falls silent.

Read more on Barron's

All of that leaves investors latching onto Williams’s language—not because it is definitive, but because it is one of the few available signals before the Fed falls silent.

Read more on Barron's