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

to lock

59 7.2

To move boats through a canal chamber to change their water level

verb
/lɑk/

Specialized

: esclusar

Examples

And finally, we lock over there.
Media playback says that even though you lock the device, the system should continue to play your audio for you.
Following his lead, engines ignite, canopies lock down, and planes taxi to position.

Fiction book (1996)
Rachel, an attractive woman in her fifties, exits, locks the door, and walks down the street.

Fiction book (1994)
We had to lock the boat in the canal to let the water level adjust.
The captain will lock the vessel inside the lock before we continue our journey.
To navigate the river safely, you must lock through the canal system at each point.

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

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 Difficult

to navigate

38 3.8

to lock

Specialized

59 7.2

lockage

Specialized

9.7

Surface Forms

lock infinitive

locked past

locked past participle

locking present participle

locks third person singular

Etymology

To lock a ship or canal means to put it into a canal 'lock' and close the gates so the water level can change, using the same idea of 'closing' from loc. So to lock the canal is to move boats between different water heights by opening and closing the gates.