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Synonyms

lock out

British  

verb

  1. to prevent from entering by locking a door

  2. to prevent (employees) from working during an industrial dispute, as by closing a factory

"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

noun

  1. the closing of a place of employment by an employer, in order to bring pressure on employees to agree to terms

"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 out Idioms  

  1. Keep out, prevent from entering. For example, Karen was so angry at her brother that she locked him out of the house . [Late 1500s] Shakespeare had it in The Comedy of Errors (4:1): “For locking me out of my doors by day.”

  2. Withhold work from employees during a labor dispute, as in The company threatened to lock out the strikers permanently . [Mid-1800s]

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.

The league is on the verge of locking out its officials for the first time since 2012, when it used sub-standard replacement referees.

From The Wall Street Journal

The league is on the verge of locking out its officials for the first time since 2012, when it used sub-standard replacement referees.

From The Wall Street Journal

Several not-for-profit arts groups say they fear being locked out of their premises in Glasgow unless they agree to a large rent hike.

From BBC

If locked out, the players are going to want support from fans, to whom a salary cap might sound reasonable.

From Los Angeles Times

It unlocks blocked content There’s nothing more frustrating than being locked out of a website, service, or app simply because you’re browsing from a different part of the world.

From Salon

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.