1. A stoppage in a pipeline caused by gas bubbles (especially a stoppage that develops in hot weather in an internal-combustion engine when fuel in the gas line boils and forms bubbles that block the flow of gasoline to the carburetor)
   "The old car suffered from vapor lock on a hot summer day";
   - vapour lock [Brit, Cdn]

Derived forms: vapor locks

Type of: block, blockage, stoppage

Encyclopedia: Vapor lock