under lock and key
IdiomsExample 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 sorrows that trouble him he keeps under lock and key.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
The driver was arrested and the van was towed away, put under lock and key at a local impound yard.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2025
They still use equipment the Yankees donated in 2019 during MLB’s debut in Europe — baseball’s are in sparse supply in the U.K., so the Mets keep their gameday stockpile under lock and key.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 6, 2024
But in contrast to the rival port of Southampton on the south coast, Portsmouth's actual "family silver" is staying under lock and key, certainly not for sale.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2024
Unscheduled and no longer under lock and key, he takes long walks around the city.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
