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Glite Dictionary
to lock pick

to lock pick

2 7.7
To open a lock without a key by using tools
  • phrasal verb
  • /lɑk pɪk/
translation icon : forzar una cerradura
  • Corky opens a thin box filled with needle-thin lock picks.
  • pulls out a lock pick
  • electronic lock picks
  • lock pick set

Examples

  • Finding it, she pulls a lock pick from her fabulous coiffure and picks the lock in nothing flat.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Ray first tried to open the cuffs using a fancy set of electronic lock picks he had inherited from the previous captain of the Shadow, George Humphrees, but despite his patience, he was unsuccessful.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Oh, honey, I finally used my lock-pick set!

    The Whole Ten Yards (2004)

  • l got into your apartment with a lock-pick.

    Hanky Panky (1982)

  • He pulls out a lock pick and starts working the lock.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The gate was locked, but one of the party made short work of it with a deftly wielded lock pick.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • She pulls her lock pick out and very slowly kneels down until she is eye level with the door lock.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • He skillfully used a lock pick to open the antique chest.

  • The burglar quietly slipped a lock pick into the door's keyhole.

  • Using a lock pick, she was able to enter the room without leaving any traces.

Synonyms

to unlock
vsto lock pick
212 1.0

To open a lock using a key or code

requires manipulating the mechanism with a tool rather than using a key or code
to picklock
vsto lock pick
  • NSFW
8.8

To open a lock without a key using a small metal tool

is the same action but often written as two separate words
to safecrack
vsto lock pick
9.1

To open a locked safe without a key, usually illegally

applies to any lock rather than only to safes

How Skillful

to lock pick
2 7.7
to bypass
119 4.7
to jimmy
8 8.6

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

lock + pick

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'lock' (a fastening) with 'pick' (a slender tool or the verb 'to pick'): it denotes using a pick to open a lock. This is a standard, compositional English verb/compound (also seen as 'pick a lock' or 'lockpick') and follows cross-linguistically common logic, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely understand it.

Etymology

The verb lock pick comes from the small pointed tool called a pick that people used to move parts inside a lock. So, using that tool to open the lock is why lock pick means 'to open a lock without using its key'.