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View synonyms for lock

lock

1

[ lok ]

noun

  1. a device for securing a door, gate, lid, drawer, or the like in position when closed, consisting of a bolt or system of bolts propelled and withdrawn by a mechanism operated by a key, dial, etc.
  2. a contrivance for fastening or securing something.
  3. (in a firearm)
    1. the mechanism that explodes the charge; gunlock.
  4. any device or part for stopping temporarily the motion of a mechanism.
  5. an enclosed chamber in a canal, dam, etc., with gates at each end, for raising or lowering vessels from one level to another by admitting or releasing water.
  6. an air lock or decompression chamber.
  7. complete and unchallenged control; an unbreakable hold:

    The congresswoman has a lock on the senatorial nomination.

  8. Slang. someone or something certain of success; sure thing:

    He's a lock to win the championship.

  9. Wrestling. any of various holds, especially a hold secured on the arm, leg, or head:

    leg lock.

  10. Horology. (in an escapement) the overlap between a tooth of an escape wheel and the surface of the pallet locking it.
  11. Metalworking. a projection or recession in the mating face of a forging die.


verb (used with object)

  1. to fasten or secure (a door, window, building, etc.) by the operation of a lock or locks.
  2. to shut in a place fastened by a lock or locks, as for security or restraint.
  3. to make fast or immovable by or as if by a lock:

    He locked the steering wheel on his car.

  4. to make fast or immovable, as by engaging parts:

    to lock the wheels of a wagon.

  5. to join or unite firmly by interlinking or intertwining:

    to lock arms.

  6. to hold fast in an embrace:

    She was locked in his arms.

  7. to move (a ship) by means of a lock or locks, as in a canal (often followed by through, in, out, down, or up ).
  8. to furnish with locks, as a canal.

verb (used without object)

  1. to become locked:

    This door locks with a key.

  2. to become fastened, fixed, or interlocked:

    gears that lock into place.

  3. to go or pass by means of a lock or locks, as a vessel.
  4. to construct locks in waterways.

verb phrase

    1. to keep out by or as if by a lock.
    2. to subject (employees) to a lockout.
    1. to commit unalterably:

      to lock in the nomination of the party's candidates.

    2. (of an investor) to be unable or unwilling to sell or shift securities.
    1. to imprison for a crime.
    2. Printing. to make (type) immovable in a chase by securing the quoins.
    3. to fasten or secure with a lock or locks.
    4. to lock the doors of a house, automobile, etc.
    5. to fasten or fix firmly, as by engaging parts.
    1. to track or follow a target or object automatically by radar or other electronic means.
    2. (in a video game) to target and then maintain the focus of the game camera and the player’s weapon on a selected character or item, though the player character and the targeted character may both be in motion.
  1. to enclose (a waterway) with a lock.

lock

2

[ lok ]

noun

  1. a tress, curl, or ringlet of hair.
  2. locks,
    1. the hair of the head.
    2. short wool of inferior quality, as that obtained in small clumps from the legs.
  3. a small tuft or portion of wool, cotton, flax, etc.

lock

1

/ lɒk /

noun

  1. a strand, curl, or cluster of hair
  2. a tuft or wisp of wool, cotton, etc
  3. literary.
    plural hair, esp when curly or fine
“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


lock

2

/ lɒk /

noun

  1. a device fitted to a gate, door, drawer, lid, etc, to keep it firmly closed and often to prevent access by unauthorized persons
  2. a similar device attached to a machine, vehicle, etc, to prevent use by unauthorized persons

    a steering lock

    1. a section of a canal or river that may be closed off by gates to control the water level and the raising and lowering of vessels that pass through it
    2. ( as modifier )

      a lock gate

  3. the jamming, fastening, or locking together of parts
  4. the extent to which a vehicle's front wheels will turn to the right or left

    this car has a good lock

  5. a mechanism that detonates the charge of a gun
  6. informal.
    a person or thing that is certain to win or to succeed

    she is a lock for the Academy Award

  7. lock, stock, and barrel
    completely; entirely
  8. any wrestling hold in which a wrestler seizes a part of his opponent's body and twists it or otherwise exerts pressure upon it
  9. Also calledlock forward rugby either of two players who make up the second line of the scrum and apply weight to the forwards in the front line
  10. a gas bubble in a hydraulic system or a liquid bubble in a pneumatic system that stops or interferes with the fluid flow in a pipe, capillary, etc

    an air lock

“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

verb

  1. to fasten (a door, gate, etc) or (of a door, etc) to become fastened with a lock, bolt, etc, so as to prevent entry or exit
  2. tr to secure (a building) by locking all doors, windows, etc
  3. to fix or become fixed together securely or inextricably
  4. to become or cause to become rigid or immovable

    the front wheels of the car locked

  5. when tr, often passive to clasp or entangle (someone or each other) in a struggle or embrace
  6. tr to furnish (a canal) with locks
  7. tr to move (a vessel) through a system of locks
  8. lock horns
    (esp of two equally matched opponents) to become engaged in argument or battle
  9. lock the stable door after the horse has bolted or lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen
    to take precautions after harm has been done
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈlockable, adjective
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Other Words From

  • lock·less adjective
  • self-lock·ing adjective
  • well-locked adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of lock1

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English loc “fastening, bar”; cognate with Middle Low German lok, Old High German loh, Old Norse lok “a cover, lid,” Gothic -luk in usluk “opening”; akin to Old English lūcan “to shut”

Origin of lock2

before 900; Middle English locke, Old English locc lock of hair, cognate with Old Norse lokkr, Dutch lok curl, German Locke
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Word History and Origins

Origin of lock1

Old English loc; related to Old Frisian lok, Old Norse lokkr lock of wool

Origin of lock2

Old English loc; related to Old Norse lok
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. lock and load,
    1. to load a gun with ammunition and prepare to fire:

      At twelve years old, I had to lock and load to protect the herd from cattle rustlers.

    2. to ready oneself for action:

      Lock and load, gamers! The tournament starts in ten!

  2. lock horns, to come into conflict; clash:

    to lock horns with a political opponent.

  3. lock, stock, and barrel, completely; entirely; including every part, item, or facet, no matter how small or insignificant:

    We bought the whole business, lock, stock, and barrel.

  4. under lock and key, securely locked up:

    The documents were under lock and key.

More idioms and phrases containing lock

  • under lock and key
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Example Sentences

On top of that we run what’s called the dynamic paywall, which is a lock on stories regardless of their content category, but based more on your habits on the Daily Beast.

From Digiday

These small compounds lock into place with water molecules, like a key in a lock, to prevent ice from forming.

There, the chemicals fit like a key into receptors — molecules that are like locks.

Ceramic dryers can increase volume and reduce dryness in thin, fine hair, but might leave something to be desired for those with fuller locks.

On top of those functions, it’s equipped with a 30-minute keep warm setting, control lock, turbo defrost, and more.

While the desk sergeant ran a background check, he was roughed up by another officer in the lock-up.

“Now they will definitely lock Navalny in prison,” one of the women in the crowd said.

Who knew that a competition where you clutch the hand of another man and lock eyes across a table could be this damn gay.

In many ways, she seems a lock for the win, but her atheism puts her entire character in question.

Charges were eventually dropped against them, in part because two had lock-solid alibis.

The place was used as a lock-up for some time after the incorporation, and the old irons were kept on show for years.

I do not know—I do not dare to believe—that I shall live to hear that key grating in the lock.

Another manner of punishment consists in making them wear a tin mask, which is fastened with a lock behind.

The launch was already under way, and young Cargill trying to avoid it better, thrust with his boat-hook at the side of the lock.

He turned into the right number, as he thought, but upon trying to insert the key in the lock he found that he had made a mistake.

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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.

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