Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
locking

locking

19 1.3
Fastening a door or container so others cannot open it
  • noun
  • /ˈlɑːkɪŋ/
translation icon : cierre
  • It's got high-tensile fiber and triple-secure locking features.
  • locking fastener
  • locking mechanism
  • locking device

Examples

  • The locking of the safe was designed to keep important documents secure.

  • So this is the locking mechanism of that latch.

  • How many times did I tell you we needed locking mechanisms on the vehicle doors?

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I think I'm going to have to take out the whole kind of locking mechanism.

  • When fully extended, a metallic spring-loaded locking arm moves into place, preventing the gas spring from compressing.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Long ago, some prescient, now-forgotten school architect placed a locking mechanism on the inside of the dressing room door.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Cahill releases the locking device on the 747 hatch, lowering it into the tunnel.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The Dyna-Thred II self-locking fastener has been designed to provide full 360-degree locking action around the thread.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Corrosion-resistant stainless steel KwikLok locking pins are activated by a push or pull motion for quick insertion and removal.

    Academic text (2004)

  • A single-taper design with a shallow-taper angle maintains concentricity when the locking bolts are tightened.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

lockup
vslocking
5 3.8

An act of locking something to keep it safe

is the same action but expressed with the other term
fastening
vslocking
2 3.9

A thing that holds two parts together so they stay secure

is the specific kind of joining that uses a device to block access
fixation
vslocking
2 6.0

Fastening something so it stays in one position

aims to prevent access and protect using a device
securement
vslocking
6.1

Fastening something so it does not move or fall

is narrower, meaning closing with a device that stops access
lockage
vslocking
9.6

A blockage in a pipe or closing something with a lock

also has the meaning of closing with a device for protection instead
secureness
vslocking
5.5

How firmly something is fixed in place

is the action of closing with a device to protect rather than the state

Antonyms

unfastening
3.5

Loosening something that is tied or fixed

Compounds

locking pliers
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A metal tool like pliers that you clamp to hold things without using your hands

How Secure

locking
19 1.3
fastening
2 3.9

Surface Forms

locking singular
lockings plural

Morphology

locking = lock (transparent) = lock + ing

Standard noun/gerund formation from the verb 'lock' with '-ing' indicating the action or process.

Etymology

Locking comes from the old English word lock, which meant a 'bolt' or 'bar' used to close and hold a door shut, like putting a bar across a gate. So locking means fastening something with a lock to keep it safe.