an act or instance of becoming unalterable, unmovable, or rigid.
commitment, binding, or restriction.
Enclose, surround, as in The ship was completely locked in ice . [c. 1400s]
Also, lock into . Fix firmly in position, commit to something. This phrase often occurs as , as in She felt she was locked in a binding agreement , or Many of the stockholders are locked into their present positions . [Mid-1900s]
First recorded in 1965–70; noun use of verb phrase lock in
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That, in turn, would result in lower costs for end users, the letter noted, while open weights also give customers more autonomy over their technology, preventing vendor lock-in.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Founder Liang Wenfeng invested around $3 billion and retained control via a limited partnership and a five-year investor lock-in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Still, the results of the Coldwell Banker survey of more than 700 agents, conducted from late March to early April, are another sign that the lock-in effect is loosening.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 23, 2026
In 2024, existing-home sales were 4.06 million, the lowest level since 1995, largely due to mortgage rate lock-in.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
“Is the library lock-in over? Are we supposed to go home now?”
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
While experts try to lock in a diagnosis, the center reported she’s receiving several prophylactic treatments and they are “cautiously hopeful.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Employees who were given shares over the years in lieu of cash compensation, for example, have one way to lock in the cash value of their deferred compensation: by selling.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
He says he decided to lock in the cheaper price at the start of the conflict because he predicted the war would cause prices to rise.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Once broadly available, Terra will be priced at half the cost of its predecessor GPT-5.5, OpenAI has said, as it seeks to lock in customers amid fierce competition from Anthropic and Google.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Most knew that an officer wasn’t likely to fill out a misbehavior report over slowness to lock in, but they could never be sure.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
