Meaning of lock in English

1. Pronunciation

   /lɑk/

   US accent

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   UK accent

   How to pronounce lock in British English, in context ▾
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1. Verb

   lock

   Definitions

   1. fasten with a lock

   Examples

   • « lock the bike to the fence »

   Antonyms

   • unlock
   • unlock
2. 2. keep engaged

   Examples

   • « engaged the gears »

   Antonyms

   • disengage
   • withdraw
3. 3. become rigid or immoveable

   Examples

   • « The therapist noticed that the patient's knees tended to lock in this exercise »

   Antonyms

   • unlock
4. 4. hold in a locking position

   Examples

   • « He locked his hands around her neck »
5. 5. become engaged or intermeshed with one another

   Examples

   • « They were locked in embrace »
6. 6. hold fast (in a certain state)

   Examples

   • « He was locked in a laughing fit »
7. 7. place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape

   Examples

   • « The parents locked her daughter up for the weekend »
   • « She locked her jewels in the safe »
8. 8. pass by means through a lock in a waterway
9. 9. build locks in order to facilitate the navigation of vessels

10. Noun

    lock

    Etymology

    Old English loc, of Germanic origin; related to German Loch‘hole’

    Definitions

    1. a fastener fitted to a door or drawer to keep it firmly closed
11. 2. a strand or cluster of hair
12. 3. a mechanism that detonates the charge of a gun
13. 4. enclosure consisting of a section of canal that can be closed to control the water level

    Examples

    • « used to raise or lower vessels that pass through it »
14. 5. a restraint incorporated into the ignition switch to prevent the use of a vehicle by persons who do not have the key
15. 6. any wrestling hold in which some part of the opponent's body is twisted or pressured