to lock up
97
2.6
- phrasal verb
- /lɑk ʌp/
:
cerrar con llave
- I'd hidden my truck a couple of miles away and locked up the cabin so they'd think I was gone.
- lock up the house
- lock up the doors
- forget to lock up
The NRA, they very much advocate for locking up the guns.
- The NRA, they very much advocate for locking up the guns.
- And so then, you know, park my bike, lock it up, go in.
- All right, once you have written, please lock that up in your box.
- So Simply put, it's the act of locking crypto up and you receive rewards for it.
- When I first met Alex, I was still locking up dead bolts and everything else on the doors.
- But yes, there were situations that I would never want to go back to do again, which is why the grey suit is locked up and not coming out again.
Examples
-
Ah, screw it; I'll just lock the store up and leave him a note.
Fiction book (1994) -
We lock up the house...
-
"I was on my way to lock up the lab."
Fiction book (1990) -
Lock up if you leave.
-
Mrs. Pack went to get her shoes and to lock up the trailer.
Fiction book (1998) -
What I'm calling to tell you is to lock up your house.
Fiction book (1998) -
Silberman Lewis, see these gentlemen out and have them lock up for the night.
Fiction book (1991) -
Before leaving for vacation, make sure to lock up the house to keep it safe from intruders.
-
It's important to lock up all your valuables in a safe place when you leave the room.
-
Always lock up your bicycle when you park it to prevent theft.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To fasten something with a key so other people cannot open it
347
3.3
To fasten firmly so it cannot move or be taken
34
2.8
To fasten a door or gate with a sliding metal bar
11
3.4
To fasten something using a small metal lock with a U-shaped bar
3
2.7
To slide a metal bar across a door to keep it closed
To fasten a door or box with a hinged metal plate and lock it
Antonyms
How Secure
Surface Forms
Morphology
lock + up
The meaning is directly built from 'lock' (to fasten or secure) plus the particle 'up', which here signals completion/intensification and confinement; a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer that it means to secure or confine so someone/something cannot leave. This is a regular, compositional phrasal-verb pattern in English and is therefore transparent.
Etymology
Lock up comes from the simple image of closing a door and turning a lock so nothing can get inside, with up showing the action is complete. That's why it means 'to secure' a building or valuables by locking them.