unlock

[uhn-lok]

verb (used with object)

1. to undo the lock of (a door, chest, etc.), especially with a key.

2. to open or release by or as if by undoing a lock.

3. to open (anything firmly closed or joined).

   to unlock the jaws.

4. to lay open; disclose.

   to unlock the secrets of one's heart.

verb (used without object)

1. to become unlocked.

unlock

/ ʌnˈlɒk /

verb

1. (tr) to unfasten (a lock, door, etc)

2. (tr) to open, release, or let loose

3. (tr) to disclose or provide the key to

   unlock a puzzle

4. (intr) to become unlocked

Other Word Forms

• unlockable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of unlock¹

1350–1400; Middle English unloken; un- ², lock ¹

Example Sentences

She said scrapping stamp duty - a tax on the sale of homes in England and Northern Ireland - will "unlock a fairer and more aspirational society" and help people of all ages.

From BBC

But Newcastle's new CEO, David Hopkinson, has set out to find ways to unlock the club's "under-realised commercial potential".

From BBC

Mr Moss would need to pay £22,000 into the scheme from his lump sum to unlock the pension.

From BBC

On its website, Vogue Magazine said Anderson had unlocked a "daring new Dior".

From BBC

Keith Anderson, chief executive of Scottish Power, says: "The government has taken on the planning bogeyman to unlock growth and get us building. That's why the UK is now Iberdrola's biggest investment destination globally."

From BBC

Related Words

• decipher 
• undo 
• unravel