Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

lock 1       (lŏk)  Pronunciation Key  (click for larger image in new window) n.   A device operated by a key, combination, or keycard and used, as on a door, for holding, closing, or securing. A section of a waterway, such as a canal, closed off with gates, in which vessels in transit are raised or lowered by raising or lowering the water level of that section. A mechanism in a firearm for exploding the charge. An interlocking or entanglement of elements or parts. Sports A hold in wrestling or self-defense that is secured on a part of an opponent's body. A secure hold; control: The distributor has a lock on most of the market. A sure thing; a certainty: His promotion is a lock. v.   locked, lock·ing, locks v.   tr. To fasten the lock of: close and lock a drawer. To shut or make secure with or as if with locks: locked the house. To sight and follow (a moving target) automatically: locked the enemy fighter in the gun sights. To aim (a weapon or other device) at a moving target so as to follow it automatically: "The pilot had locked his targeting radar on the slow-moving frigate" (Ed Magnuson). To equip (a waterway) with locks. To pass (a vessel) through a lock. To secure (letterpress type) in a chase or press bed by tightening the quoins. To fasten (a curved plate) to the cylinder of a rotary press. To end the processing of (a magnetic tape or disk) in such a way as to deny access to its contents. To protect (a file) from changes or deletion. To confine or exclude by or as if by means of a lock: locked the dog in for the night; locked the criminal up in a cell. To fix in place so that movement or escape is impossible; hold fast: The ship was locked in the ice through the winter. She felt that she had become locked into a binding agreement. To sight and follow (a moving target) automatically: locked the enemy fighter in the gun sights. To aim (a weapon or other device) at a moving target so as to follow it automatically: "The pilot had locked his targeting radar on the slow-moving frigate" (Ed Magnuson). To equip (a waterway) with locks. To pass (a vessel) through a lock. To secure (letterpress type) in a chase or press bed by tightening the quoins. To fasten (a curved plate) to the cylinder of a rotary press. To end the processing of (a magnetic tape or disk) in such a way as to deny access to its contents. To protect (a file) from changes or deletion. To engage and interlock securely so as to be immobile. To clasp or link firmly; intertwine: locked arms and walked away. To bind in close struggle or battle: The two dogs were locked in combat. To equip (a waterway) with locks. To pass (a vessel) through a lock. To secure (letterpress type) in a chase or press bed by tightening the quoins. To fasten (a curved plate) to the cylinder of a rotary press. To end the processing of (a magnetic tape or disk) in such a way as to deny access to its contents. To protect (a file) from changes or deletion. Printing To secure (letterpress type) in a chase or press bed by tightening the quoins. To fasten (a curved plate) to the cylinder of a rotary press. To end the processing of (a magnetic tape or disk) in such a way as to deny access to its contents. To protect (a file) from changes or deletion. To invest (funds) in such a way that they cannot easily be converted into cash. Computer Science To end the processing of (a magnetic tape or disk) in such a way as to deny access to its contents. To protect (a file) from changes or deletion. v.   intr. To become fastened by or as if by means of a lock: The door locks automatically when shut. To become entangled; interlock. To become rigid or immobile: The mechanism tends to lock in cold weather. To pass through a lock or locks in a waterway. Phrasal Verb(s): lock out To withhold work from (employees) during a labor dispute. Idiom(s): lock horns To become embroiled in conflict. Idiom(s): lock, stock, and barrel To the greatest or most complete extent; wholly: an estate that was auctioned off lock, stock, and barrel. Idiom(s): under lock and key Securely locked up. [Middle English, from Old English loc, bolt, bar.] lock'a·ble adj.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

lock 2       (lŏk)  Pronunciation Key  n.   A length or curl of hair; a tress. The hair of the head. Often used in the plural. A small wisp or tuft, as of wool or cotton. [Middle English, from Old English locc.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
lock  (1)

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
lock  (2)

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

lock
noun
1.	a fastener fitted to a door or drawer to keep it firmly closed
2.	a strand or cluster of hair
3.	a mechanism that detonates the charge of a gun
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
5.	a restraint incorporated into the ignition switch to prevent the use of a vehicle by persons who do not have the key
6.	any wrestling hold in which some part of the opponent's body is twisted or pressured
verb
1.	fasten with a lock; "lock the bike to the fence" [ant: unlock]
2.	keep engaged; "engaged the gears" [syn: engage] [ant: disengage]
3.	become rigid or immoveable; "The therapist noticed that the patient's knees tended to lock in this exercise" [ant: unlock]
4.	hold in a locking position; "He locked his hands around her neck"
5.	become engaged or intermeshed with one another; "They were locked in embrace" [syn: interlock]
6.	hold fast (in a certain state); "He was locked in a laughing fit"
7.	place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape; "The parents locked her daughter up for the weekend"; "She locked her jewels in the safe" [syn: lock in]
8.	pass by means through a lock in a waterway
9.	build locks in order to facilitate the navigation of vessels

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

lock

In addition to the idioms beginning with lock, also see under lock and key.

U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Lock Haven, PA (city, FIPS 44128) Location: 41.13594 N, 77.45322 W
Population (1990): 9230 (3302 housing units)
Area: 6.5 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 17745

Lock Springs, MO (town, FIPS 43472) Location: 39.84909 N, 93.77587 W
Population (1990): 57 (31 housing units)
Area: 0.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 64654

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Lock

Block\, n. [OE. blok; cf. F. bloc (fr. OHG.), D. & Dan. blok, Sw. & G. block, OHG. bloch. There is also an OHG. bloch, biloh; bi by + the same root as that of E. lock. Cf. Block, v. t., Blockade, and see Lock.]

1. A piece of wood more or less bulky; a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usually with one or more plane, or approximately plane, faces; as, a block on which a butcher chops his meat; a block by which to mount a horse; children's playing blocks, etc.

Now all our neighbors' chimneys smoke, And Christmas blocks are burning. --Wither.

All her labor was but as a block Left in the quarry. --Tennyson.

2. The solid piece of wood on which condemned persons lay their necks when they are beheaded.

Noble heads which have been brought to the block. --E. Everett.

3. The wooden mold on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped. Hence: The pattern or shape of a hat.

He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block. --Shak.

4. A large or long building divided into separate houses or shops, or a number of houses or shops built in contact with each other so as to form one building; a row of houses or shops.

5. A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets, whether occupied by buildings or not.

The new city was laid out in rectangular blocks, each block containing thirty building lots. Such an average block, comprising 282 houses and covering nine acres of ground, exists in Oxford Street. --Lond. Quart. Rev.

6. A grooved pulley or sheave incased in a frame or shell which is provided with a hook, eye, or strap, by which it may be attached to an object. It is used to change the direction of motion, as in raising a heavy object that can not be conveniently reached, and also, when two or more such sheaves are compounded, to change the rate of motion, or to exert increased force; -- used especially in the rigging of ships, and in tackles.

7. (Falconry) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.

8. Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a hindrance; an obstacle; as, a block in the way.

9. A piece of box or other wood for engravers' work.

10. (Print.) A piece of hard wood (as mahogany or cherry) on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted to make it type high.

11. A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt. [Obs.]

What a block art thou ! --Shak.

12. A section of a railroad where the block system is used. See Block system, below.

A block of shares (Stock Exchange), a large number of shares in a stock company, sold in a lump. --Bartlett.

Block printing. (a) A mode of printing (common in China and Japan) from engraved boards by means of a sheet of paper laid on the linked surface and rubbed with a brush. --S. W. Williams. (b) A method of printing cotton cloth and paper hangings with colors, by pressing them upon an engraved surface coated with coloring matter.

Block system on railways, a system by which the track is divided into sections of three or four miles, and trains are so run by the guidance of electric signals that no train enters a section or block before the preceding train has left it.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Lock

Cais"son\, n. [F., fr. caisse, case, chest. See 1st Case.]

1. (Mil.) (a) A chest to hold ammunition. (b) A four-wheeled carriage for conveying ammunition, consisting of two parts, a body and a limber. In light field batteries there is one caisson to each piece, having two ammunition boxes on the body, and one on the limber. --Farrow. (c) A chest filled with explosive materials, to be laid in the way of an enemy and exploded on his approach.

2. (a) A water-tight box, of timber or iron within which work is carried on in building foundations or structures below the water level. (b) A hollow floating box, usually of iron, which serves to close the entrances of docks and basins. (c) A structure, usually with an air chamber, placed beneath a vessel to lift or float it.

3. (Arch.) A sunk panel of ceilings or soffits.

Pneumatic caisson (Engin.), a caisson, closed at the top but open at the bottom, and resting upon the ground under water. The pressure of air forced into the caisson keeps the water out. Men and materials are admitted to the interior through an air lock. See Lock.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Lock

Ca*nal"\, n. [F. canal, from L. canalis canal, channel; prob. from a root signifying "to cut"; cf. D. kanaal, fr. the French. Cf. Channel, Kennel gutter.]

1. An artificial channel filled with water and designed for navigation, or for irrigating land, etc.

2. (Anat.) A tube or duct; as, the alimentary canal; the semicircular canals of the ear.

Canal boat, a boat for use on a canal; esp. one of peculiar shape, carrying freight, and drawn by horses walking on the towpath beside the canal.

Canal lock. See Lock.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Lock

De*tect"or\, n. [L., a revealer.] One who, or that which, detects; a detecter. --Shak.

A deathbed's detector of the heart. --Young.

Bank-note detector, a publication containing a description of genuine and counterfeit bank notes, designed to enable persons to discriminate between them.

Detector lock. See under Lock.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Lock

The Hebrews usually secured their doors by bars of wood or iron (Isa. 45:2; 1 Kings 4:3). These were the locks originally used, and were opened and shut by large keys applied through an opening in the outside (Judg. 3:24). (See KEY.) Lock of hair (Judg. 16:13, 19; Ezek. 8:3; Num. 6:5, etc.).

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

LOCK

LOCK: in Acronym Finder

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

lock

lock: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary