padlock
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
padlocksimple
-
padlockssimple
-
have padlockedperfect
-
has padlockedperfect
-
am padlockingprogressive
-
are padlockingprogressive
-
is padlockingprogressive
-
have been padlockingperfect progressive
-
has been padlockingperfect progressive
Past
-
padlockedsimple
-
had padlockedperfect
-
was padlockingprogressive
-
were padlockingprogressive
-
had been padlockingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of padlock
First recorded in 1425–75, padlock is from the late Middle English word padlok. See pod 4, lock 1
Explanation
A lightweight lock that attaches using a pivoting hook is called a padlock. Many high school students use lockers that can be locked with padlocks to keep their smelly gym clothes safe. A padlock's hook or shackle is hinged so that it can fasten through an opening, clicking shut securely. Most padlocks require a key to open them, while others use a combination, a series of wheels that you turn and align to show a certain password before the padlock will open. You can use padlock as a verb, too: "Be sure to padlock the back gate when you leave!"
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.
See Examples For:
Garner claimed Toretto, who he had previously described as "missing a few nuts and bolts", had been put in a small shed on the patio, which he secured with a padlock.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
The first and only response to that invitation was to ask him to put a padlock on the door to the storage room full of boxed documents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
Not necessarily a designer one, but a handbag with a strong sense of itself — an acid-green baguette bag, a wicker orb with a padlock, a cheetah-print apothecary satchel.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025
Slouchy and decorated in padlock hardware, Chloé’s certified it-girl bag is my dream silhouette.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025
On one side of the stone floor, a set of stairs had been excavated, leading down to a modern iron gate with a padlock.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
She padlocks the gate when she returns and buries witchy talismans around the property to ward off intruders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Onlookers, mostly locals, were greeted with padlocks and closed shutters.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2025
Sensing my interest in the cluster of irregular towers, he stood up, produced a large key ring and began opening a series of padlocks.
From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
Only if it’s lockable using padlocks or bolts.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2022
When I came in sight of the house, I decided not to go about my work as usual, but to let him know straightaway that I had seen the padlocks, and ask for the key.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
Sindorf left in May 2024 but padlocked the unit behind him, preventing Vivos from taking possession.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
But residents can no longer view the bright autumn colours of the tree of life, a symbol often painted by Behzad, as the wooden door has been padlocked shut.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
In March, the clinic doors had been padlocked for two weeks when she developed vomiting and diarrhea.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
His home is padlocked shut, and rebels are more reluctant to grant entry there.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2024
When my mother returned home, she found our duplex padlocked.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
She’s laid off half the staff and joked about padlocking the door.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2025
And a law that was passed primarily with climate protesters in its sights, who have taken to gluing themselves to roads and padlocking themselves to this, that and the other.
From BBC ● May 9, 2023
“It would be a terrible shame if someone were to buy it and then start padlocking it. They’ve done so much work to it, it’s quite amazing,” Bell & Co.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 27, 2022
Determined to protect this one, Nix began padlocking the banner early each morning, taking it down and storing it at sundown.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 25, 2021
But most of the stores were closed and the owners had pulled the metal gates down over the front windows and doors, padlocking them shut.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
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.
