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Glite Dictionary
🗝️ A lock-opening tool 🗝️ To open a lock
picklock

picklock

8.8
A small metal tool, or someone who uses it, to open locks without a key
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪkˌlɒk/
  • NSFW
translation icon : ganzúa
  • The thief used a picklock to gain access to the building without a key.

Examples

  • - How are you as a picklock?

    The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

  • The Hounds respected a picklock.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • A skilled picklock is often able to open doors that others cannot.

  • She learned to use a picklock to unlock her old suitcase when she lost the key.

Synonyms

unlocker
vspicklock
1 3.7

A tool or program that opens locked things such as files and doors

is limited to physical tools and often implies illegal human use
jiggler
vspicklock
  • Slang
9.9

A small tool that moves a lock's parts to open it

is a broader term including the user and illegal use

How Effective

skeleton key
1 6.7
picklock
  • NSFW
8.8
jiggler
  • Slang
9.9

Surface Forms

picklock singular
picklocks plural

Morphology

picklock = pick + lock (transparent) = pick + lock

The meaning is a straightforward combination of 'pick' and 'lock' (a tool for picking locks or a person who picks locks).

Etymology

Picklock is made from pick (a small pointed tool) and lock, and it names the tool or the person who uses that tool to open a lock without a key. So a picklock is literally a 'pick' for a 'lock', often used to get into places quietly or illegally.