latch
Use Latch in a sentence
noun
1.
a device for holding a door, gate, or the like, closed, consisting basically of a bar falling or sliding into a catch, groove, hole, etc.
verb (used with object)
2.
to close or fasten with a latch.
verb (used without object)
Verb phrases 3.
to close tightly so that the latch is secured: The door won't latch.
4.
5.
latch onto, Informal.
a.
to take possession of; obtain; get.
b.
to acquire understanding of; comprehend.
c.
to attach oneself to; join in with: The stray dog latched onto the children and wouldn't go home.
Origin:
before 950; 1930–35 for def 5; Middle English lacchen, Old English lǣccan to take hold of, catch, seize; akin to Greek lázesthai to take
before 950; 1930–35 for def 5; Middle English lacchen, Old English lǣccan to take hold of, catch, seize; akin to Greek lázesthai to take
Related forms
re·latch, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To latch
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Latch
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is absquatulate. Does it mean:
| to flee; abscond: |
| to bark; yelp. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
latch (lætʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a fastening for a gate or door that consists of a bar that may be slid or lowered into a groove, hole, etc |
| 2. | a spring-loaded door lock that can be opened by a key from outside |
| 3. | electronics Also called: latch circuit a logic circuit that transfers the input states to the output states when signalled, the output thereafter remaining insensitive to changes in input status until signalled again |
| —vb | |
| 4. | to fasten, fit, or be fitted with or as if with a latch |
| [Old English læccan to seize, of Germanic origin; related to Greek lazesthai] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
latch
O.E. læccan "to grasp or seize," from P.Gmc. *lakkijanan. Not found in other Gmc. languages; probably from PIE *(s)lagw- "to seize" (see analemma). The noun is first recorded 1331, from the verb. Latchkey (1825) is a key to draw back the latch of a door; latchkey
child first recorded 1944, Amer.Eng., in ref. to children who come home from school while both parents are at work.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
latch definition
A digital logic circuit used to store one or more bits. A latch has a data input, a clock input and an output. When the clock input is active, data on the input is "latched" or stored and transfered to the output either immediately or when the clock input goes inactive. The output will then retain its value until the clock goes active again.
See also flip-flop.
(1995-02-03)
Example sentences
First her eyes latch onto mine, then her head swings around in a mechanical two-step.
It simply failed to recognise what it should latch onto in humans.
First came the tinny click of the living-room door latch, which let me know he was coming.
The scientists have identified the muscle, but the spring and latch remain to be definitively identified.
Nearby Words
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