1. A fastener fitted to a door or drawer to keep it firmly closed
   "He installed a new lock on the front door for added security"
    
2. A restraint incorporated into the ignition switch to prevent the use of a vehicle by persons who do not have the key
   "The car's ignition lock prevented theft attempts";
   - ignition lock
    
3. A mechanism that detonates the charge of a gun
   "The rifle's lock was damaged, rendering it unusable"
    
4. Enclosure consisting of a section of canal that can be closed to control the water level; used to raise or lower vessels that pass through it
   "The boat entered the lock chamber to navigate the change in water level";
   - lock chamber
    
5. A strand or cluster of hair
   "A lock of her golden hair fell across her face"
    
6. Any wrestling hold in which some part of the opponent's body is twisted or pressured
   "The experienced grappler applied a painful leg lock to force a submission"

1. Fasten with a lock
   "lock the bike to the fence"
    
2. Keep engaged
   "locked the gears";
   - engage, mesh, operate
    
3. Place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape
   "The suspect was locked up for the weekend"; "She locked her jewels in the safe"; "He locked away the valuable documents in a safe";
   - lock away, shut up, shut away, lock up
    
4. Become rigid or immoveable
   "The therapist noticed that the patient's knees tended to lock in this exercise"
    
5. Hold in a locking position
   "He locked his hands around her neck";
   - interlock, interlace
    
6. Become engaged or intermeshed with one another
   "They were locked in embrace";
   - interlock
    
7. Hold fast (in a certain state)
   "He was locked in a laughing fit"
    
8. Move a vessel through a lock in a waterway
   "The boat locked through the canal system"
    
9. Build locks in order to facilitate the navigation of vessels
   "They locked the canal to allow ships to pass"

Sounds like: lock, L

Derived forms: locks, locked, locking

See also: lock up

Type of: bosom, build, confine, constraint, construct, displace, embrace, enclosure, engage, engulf, fasten, fastener, fastening, fix, fixing, hair, holdfast, hug, ingulf [archaic], make, mechanism, move, overcome, overpower, overtake, overwhelm, pass, restraint, secure, squeeze, sweep over, wrestling hold

Antonym: unlock

Part of: canal, coif, coiffure, do [informal], door, drawer, firearm, gate, hair style, hairdo [informal], hairstyle, ignition switch, lid, piece, small-arm

Encyclopedia: Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels