lock up
Britishverb
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Also: lock in. lock away. (tr) to imprison or confine
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to lock or secure the doors, windows, etc, of (a building)
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(tr) to keep or store securely
secrets locked up in history
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(tr) to invest (funds) so that conversion into cash is difficult
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printing to secure (type, etc) in a chase or in the bed of the printing machine by tightening the quoins
noun
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the action or time of locking up
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a jail or block of cells
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a small shop with no attached quarters for the owner or shopkeeper
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a garage or storage place separate from the main premises
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stock exchange an investment that is intended to be held for a relatively long period
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printing the pages of type held in a chase by the positioning of quoins
adjective
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Close a house or place of work, fastening all the doors and windows, as in The attendant locks up at eleven o'clock every night , or Did you remind Abby to lock up? [Late 1500s]
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Invest in something not easily converted into cash, as in Most of their assets were locked up in real estate . [Late 1600s]
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lock someone up . Confine or imprison someone, as in The princes were locked up in the Tower of London . [c. 1300]
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.
Stores lock up basic items, cut hours, or close.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026
At 6, he’d lock up and head home.
From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026
Also, remove or lock up any valuables from your home before your guest arrives.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 19, 2026
The Rams did not wait for the end of the season to lock up key members of their core.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026
The agent, meanwhile, only lost $300—a small price to pay to ensure that she would quickly and easily lock up the sale, which netted her a commission of $6,450.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
