lock
see also: Lock
Pronunciation Noun

lock (plural locks)

  1. Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination.
    • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
      "Give me the key," said my mother; and though the lock was very stiff, she had turned it and thrown back the lid in a twinkling.
  2. (computing, by extension) A mutex or other token restricting access to a resource.
  3. A segment of a canal or other waterway enclosed by gates, used for raising and lowering boats between levels.
    • 1846, William Makepeace Thackeray, Notes of a Journey from Cornhill to Grand Cairo
      Here the canal came to a check, ending abruptly with a large lock.
  4. (gun mechanisms) The firing mechanism.
    • 1837, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers
      "I never saw such a gun in my life," replied poor Winkle, looking at the lock, as if that would do any good.
  5. Complete control over a situation.
    • 2003, Charley Rosen, The Wizard of Odds
      Even though he had not yet done so, Jack felt he had a lock on the game.
  6. Something sure to be a success.
    • 2004, Avery Corman, A perfect divorce
      Brian thinks she's a lock to get a scholarship somewhere.
  7. (rugby) A player in the scrum behind the front row, usually the tallest members of the team.
  8. A fastening together or interlacing; a closing of one thing upon another; a state of being fixed or immovable.
    • Albemarle Street closed by a lock of carriages
  9. A place from which egress is prevented, as by a lock.
  10. A device for keeping a wheel from turning.
  11. A grapple in wrestling.
Related terms
  • lock time
  • lock, stock and barrel
Translations Translations
  • German: Lock
  • Russian: блокиро́вка
Translations Translations Verb

lock (locks, present participle locking; past locked, past participle locked)

  1. (intransitive) To become fastened in place.
    If you put the brakes on too hard, the wheels will lock.
  2. (transitive) To fasten with a lock.
    Remember to lock the door when you leave.
  3. (intransitive) To be capable of becoming fastened in place.
    This door locks with a key.
  4. (transitive) To intertwine or dovetail.
    with his hands locked behind his back
    We locked arms and stepped out into the night.
  5. (intransitive, break dancing) To freeze one's body or a part thereof in place.
    a pop and lock routine
  6. To furnish (a canal) with locks.
  7. To raise or lower (a boat) in a lock.
  8. To seize (e.g. the sword arm of an antagonist) by turning the left arm around it, to disarm him.
  9. (Internet, transitive) To officially prevent other users from posting in (a thread).
Antonyms
  • (to fasten with a lock; to be capable of becoming fasteneed in place) unlock
Translations Translations Translations
  • Italian: restare immobile, congelarsi, bloccarsi, restare impalato
Translations
  • Italian: munire di chiuse
Noun

lock (plural locks)

  1. A tuft or length of hair, wool etc.
    • c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene i], page 164 ↗, column Baſſ.}} […] Nor is the wide world ignorant of worth, / For the foure windes blow in from euery coaſt / Renowned ſutors, and her ſunny locks / Hang on her temples like a golden fleece, / Which makes her ſeat of Belmont Cholchos ſtrond, / And many Iaſons come in queſt of her.
  • 1845 October – 1846 June, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], Wuthering Heights: A Novel, volume XXI, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, publisher, […], published December 1847, OCLC 156123328 ↗:
    If I consent to burn them, will you promise faithfully neither to send nor receive a letter again, nor a book (for I perceive you have sent him books), nor locks of hair, nor rings, nor playthings?
  • A small quantity of straw etc.
  • (Scotland, legal, historical) A quantity of meal, the perquisite of a mill-servant.
  • Translations
    Lock
    Proper noun
    1. Surname



    This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.004
    Offline English dictionary