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night latch

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noun
  1. a door lock operated from the inside by a knob and from the outside by a key.
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Origin of night latch

First recorded in 1850–55
Also called night bolt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for night latch

Historical Examples

  • But she couldn't manage the night-latch, and so Margaret had to follow her.

    A Little Girl in Old New York

    Amanda Millie Douglas

  • "Please don't think me ungrateful," she said, when she had thrown the night-latch for him.

    The Grafters

    Francis Lynde

  • When we were all inside Fleming Stone closed the door, the night-latch of which, of course, snapped itself.

    A Chain of Evidence

    Carolyn Wells

  • He took out his ring of keys, found the night-latch and thrust it into the keyhole.

    The Carpet from Bagdad

    Harold MacGrath

  • He reached his home out of breath; but then his key to the night-latch would not fit, just because he was excited and in a hurry.

    Make or Break

    Oliver Optic

British Dictionary definitions for night latch

night latch

noun
  1. a door lock that is operated by means of a knob on the inside and a key on the outside
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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