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Glite Dictionary
🔒 To secure 🔒 A security device 🦵 To become rigid 💇 A hair curl 🚢 To use a water gate 🚢 A water gate 🤼 A wrestling hold
to lock

to lock

∞ 1.0
To fasten something with a key so other people cannot open it
  • verb
  • /lɑk/
translation icon : cerrar con llave
  • Before leaving for the day, please lock the office doors to keep everyone safe.
  • lock the door
  • lock the gate
  • keep locked

Yeah, they'd they'd they'd have to lock me away quick.

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Examples

  • I just want to go under the covers, lock myself away, not see a soul.

  • Home early, they discovered Beau's door shut and locked, and David standing in his crib yelling.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • And I was like, you know, bring the place, lock the doors, right?

  • There lock yourself and send him word you are dead.

    Antony and Cleopatra (1972)

  • And they were able to lock people down rapidly.

  • No, we got in and then they locked the door behind us.

  • The front door's locked and the windows, too.

    Sleuth (1972)

  • I locked myself out of my apartment.

    Eraserhead (1977)

  • Then he switched off the light, making sure to lock the bedroom door behind him.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The auditor kept the data in a locked filing cabinet to ensure confidentiality.

    Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

to secure
vsto lock
347 3.3

To fasten firmly so it cannot move or be taken

adds the idea of using a locking device or enclosing to prevent access
to put away
vsto lock
115 5.8

To lock someone in prison or a secure place

is the physical act of fastening or enclosing, not only institutional placement
to lock up
vsto lock
97 2.6

Close a house or safe with a key to keep people out

also covers confining people as well as fastening objects
to restrain
vsto lock
86 4.6

Hold a person or thing so it cannot move freely

adds the idea of securing by fastening or enclosing rather than general control
to lock in
vsto lock
70 3.9

To keep something inside so it cannot escape by closing or locking

also includes simple fastening actions for preventing access
to lock out
vsto lock
65 3.8

To stop someone from entering a building or using an account

focuses on fastening or confining items or people rather than exclusion
to shut up
vsto lock
50 5.5

Lock someone inside a place so they cannot leave

also refers to fastening objects with a locking mechanism
to shackle
vsto lock
35 6.2

To restrain someone with chains or limit their freedom

is broader, including nonmetal fastening or enclosing to prevent access
to bolt
vsto lock
34 2.8

To fasten a door or gate with a sliding metal bar

is broader, covering fastening or confining with various methods
to lock away
vsto lock
32 3.4

Put someone or something somewhere they cannot leave and others cannot reach

can mean either fastening or placing out of reach, not only storage
to padlock
vsto lock
11 3.4

To fasten something using a small metal lock with a U-shaped bar

is the general action of fastening or confining, not one device
to bolt the door
vsto lock
3 2.7

To slide a metal bar across a door to keep it closed

includes that act but also general confinement and fastening
to clasp
vsto lock
3 3.0

To fasten something with a small hook or buckle

is stronger, implying a locking mechanism or full confinement
to shut away
vsto lock
3 5.5

Keep people and things in a place where they cannot leave or be seen

also covers fastening objects, not only hidden or isolated placement
to shut in
vsto lock
5.1

Surround something completely so it cannot get out or move

can be done by fastening or by simple enclosure without full surrounding

Antonyms

to free
337 1.0

To release someone or something that is held

to unlock
212 1.0

To open a lock using a key or code

Idioms

under lock and key
16 3.0

Kept in a locked place so people cannot take it

to lock horns
  • Informal
5 5.1

To argue strongly with someone about something

to lock him up and throw away the key
  • Informal
2 9.5

Put someone in prison and never let them out

to lock up and toss the key
  • Informal
9.3

Put someone in prison and never let them leave

Phrasal Verbs

to lock up
300 4.0

Put someone or something in a place where they cannot leave, for example a jail

to lock up
97 2.6

Close a house or safe with a key to keep people out

to lock in
70 3.9

To keep something inside so it cannot escape by closing or locking

to lock out
65 3.8

To stop someone from entering a building or using an account

to lock away
32 3.4

Put someone or something somewhere they cannot leave and others cannot reach

to lock in
29 4.4

To make a decision or plan fixed so it cannot be easily changed

to lock into
22 5.8

A situation where you cannot leave an agreement or plan

to lock pick
2 7.7

To open a lock without a key by using tools

to lock into a routine
4.2

Do the same things at the same time every day

Compounds

air lock
  • Specialized
5 5.6

A chamber that lets people move between places with different air pressure while preventing air mixing

combination lock
5 2.8

A device that opens only when you enter the right numbers

Caps Lock
2 2.6

A key on a keyboard that makes all typed letters capital until turned off

safety lock
2 3.5

A device on a gun that stops it from firing by accident

vapor lock
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A stop in the fuel moving to a car engine because heat makes gas bubbles

window lock
1 2.3

A small device attached to a window that keeps it closed and stops people opening it

cylinder lock
3.5

A device with a round key part that opens a door when the right key turns it

lever lock
  • Specialized
6.7

A device that keeps a door or safe closed until someone lifts the levers to the right heights

lock chamber
  • Specialized
5.8

A part of a canal with gates that raises or lowers boats by changing the water level

lock ring
  • Specialized
5.8

A small round ring that keeps a nut from coming loose

lock washer
  • Specialized
5.1

A small metal ring that stops a nut from coming loose

lock-gate
  • Specialized
4.9

A gate that opens and closes to let boats pass and control water in a canal

lock-up option
  • Formal
9.5

A right for a friendly investor to buy key assets before others to stop a takeover

love-lock
8.4

A padlock attached to a place like a bridge by a couple to show their lasting love

heart-shaped love-lock
6.0

A small metal lock shaped like a heart that couples attach to bridges

ignition lock
  • Specialized
5.1

A part in a car that stops the engine from starting without the right key

safety lock
2.8

A lock on a door that keeps people from opening it from outside

sash lock
  • Specialized
6.2

A small lock on a window with two moving panels that keeps them closed

scalp lock
  • US
9.9

A long piece of hair left on top of a shaved head, worn in some Indigenous North American cultures

wheel lock
  • Archaic
9.9

A gun device with a rotating wheel that makes sparks to light powder

How Secure

to padlock
11 3.4
to bolt
34 2.8
to lock
∞ 1.0
to secure
347 3.3
to fasten
68 1.6

Surface Forms

lock infinitive
locked past
locked past participle
locking present participle
locks third person singular

Etymology

To lock (verb) originally meant 'to close' or fasten something, from the same old English root loc. So when you 'lock' your door or suitcase, you make it stay shut and hard to open.