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

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noun

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

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]

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Example Sentences

Two days later, they were locked out of Binance’s systems, suspended—and fired soon after.

From The Wall Street Journal

If MLB locks out players Dec. 1, no games are lost.

From Los Angeles Times

Homeowners, Yun said, have been able to build housing wealth over the past several years, while many buyers have remained locked out.

From Barron's

Homeowners, Yun said, have been able to build housing wealth over the past several years, while many buyers have remained locked out.

From Barron's

A generation of young people locked out of homeownership has found another way to build wealth: putting money into the stock market.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ban
• bar
• block
• boycott
• eliminate
• ignore
• omit
• ostracize
• preclude
• prevent
• prohibit
• refuse
• reject
• remove
• rule out
• suspend