lock

/lɑk/

/lɒk/

Other forms: locked; locks; locking

A lock is a tool that keeps a room, house, drawer, or box securely closed. You generally need a key, password, or combination to open a lock.

You might use a padlock on your gym locker, opening it with a tiny key or a secret series of numbers. There are also locks called "bolts" like the one on your front door, and bicycle locks that protect your bike while you're at work. Lock also means "to secure with a lock" or "keep securely enclosed," like when you lock your goat in the yard to keep him from eating the neighbor's rose bushes.

Definitions of lock

1. noun

   a fastener fitted to a door or drawer to keep it firmly closed
   types:

   combination lock

   lock that can be opened only by turning dials in a special sequence

   cylinder lock

   a lock in which a cylinder rotates to move a bolt; tumblers are pins; inserting the key lifts and aligns the pins to free the cylinder to rotate

   doorlock

   a lock on an exterior door

   door latch, latch

   spring-loaded doorlock that can only be opened from the outside with a key

   lever lock

   a lock whose tumblers are levers that must be raised to a given position so that the bolt can move

   padlock

   a detachable lock; has a hinged shackle that can be passed through the staple of a hasp or the links in a chain and then snapped shut

   sash fastener, sash lock, window lock

   a lock attached to the sashes of a double hung window that can fix both in the shut position

   night latch

   doorlock operated by a knob on the inside and a key on the outside

   type of:

   fastener, fastening, fixing, holdfast

   restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place
2. verb

   fasten with a lock
   “lock the bike to the fence”

   antonyms:

   unlock

   become unlocked

   unlock

   open the lock of

   types:

   padlock

   fasten with a padlock

   bolt

   secure or lock with a bolt

   type of:

   fasten, fix, secure

   cause to be firmly attached
3. verb

   place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape
   “The parents locked her daughter up for the weekend”

   “She locked her jewels in the safe”

   synonyms: lock away, lock in, lock up, put away, shut away, shut up

   type of:

   confine

   prevent from leaving or from being removed
4. verb

   keep engaged
   synonyms: engage, mesh, operate

   types:

   flip, switch, throw

   cause to go on or to be engaged or set in operation

   ride

   keep partially engaged by slightly depressing a pedal with the foot

   switch on, turn on

   cause to operate by flipping a switch

   cut, switch off, turn off, turn out

   cause to stop operating by disengaging a switch

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
5. noun

   enclosure consisting of a section of canal that can be closed to control the water level; used to raise or lower vessels that pass through it
   synonyms: lock chamber

   type of:

   enclosure

   a structure consisting of an area that has been enclosed for some purpose
6. verb

   build locks in order to facilitate the navigation of vessels
   type of:

   build, construct, make

   make by combining materials and parts
7. verb

   pass by means through a lock in a waterway
   type of:

   go across, go through, pass

   go across or through
8. noun

   a mechanism that detonates the charge of a gun
   type of:

   mechanism

   device consisting of a piece of machinery; has moving parts that perform some function
9. verb

   hold fast (in a certain state)
   “He was locked in a laughing fit”

   type of:

   overcome, overpower, overtake, overwhelm, sweep over, whelm

   overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
10. verb

    become rigid or immoveable
    “The therapist noticed that the patient's knees tended to lock in this exercise”

    antonyms:

    unlock

    become unlocked

    type of:

    engage

    get caught
11. verb

    become engaged or intermeshed with one another
    “They were locked in embrace”

    synonyms: interlock

    type of:

    bosom, embrace, hug, squeeze

    squeeze (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness
12. verb

    hold in a locking position
    “He locked his hands around her neck”

    synonyms: interlace, interlock

    type of:

    hold, take hold

    have or hold in one's hands or grip
13. noun

    any wrestling hold in which some part of the opponent's body is twisted or pressured
    types:

    hammerlock

    a wrestling hold in which the opponent's arm is twisted up behind his back

    headlock

    a wrestling hold in which the opponent's head is locked between the crook of your elbow and the side of your body

    type of:

    wrestling hold

    a hold used in the sport of wrestling
14. noun

    a restraint incorporated into the ignition switch to prevent the use of a vehicle by persons who do not have the key
    synonyms: ignition lock

    type of:

    constraint, restraint

    a device that impede's something's motion
15. noun

    a strand or cluster of hair
    synonyms: curl, ringlet, whorl

    types:

    sausage curl

    a fat sausage-shaped curl

    forelock

    a lock of hair growing (or falling) over the forehead

    crimp

    a lock of hair that has been artificially waved or curled

    dreadlock

    one of many long thin braids of hair radiating from the scalp; popularized by Rastafarians

    tress

    (usually plural) a long lock of hair

    quiff

    a prominent forelock (especially one brushed upward from the forehead)

    pin curl

    a curl of hair made by dampening a strand of hair and curling it and holding the curl with a clip or bobby pin

    kiss curl, spit curl

    a spiral curl plastered on the forehead or cheek

    type of:

    hair

    a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss