Related Searches
Nearby Words
Synonyms

lock up

 [lok]   Origin

lock

1   [lok]
noun
1.
a device for securing a door, gate, lid, drawer, or the like in position when closed, consisting of a bolt or system of bolts propelled and withdrawn by a mechanism operated by a key, dial, etc.
2.
a contrivance for fastening or securing something.
3.
(in a firearm)
a.
the mechanism that explodes the charge; gunlock.
b.
safety (def. 4).
4.
any device or part for stopping temporarily the motion of a mechanism.
5.
an enclosed chamber in a canal, dam, etc., with gates at each end, for raising or lowering vessels from one level to another by admitting or releasing water.
EXPAND
6.
an air lock or decompression chamber.
7.
complete and unchallenged control; an unbreakable hold: The congresswoman has a lock on the senatorial nomination.
8.
Slang. someone or something certain of success; sure thing: He's a lock to win the championship.
9.
Wrestling. any of various holds, especially a hold secured on the arm, leg, or head: leg lock.
10.
Horology. (in an escapement) the overlap between a tooth of an escape wheel and the surface of the pallet locking it.
11.
Metalworking. a projection or recession in the mating face of a forging die.
COLLAPSE
Lock up Definition Dictionary.com Find Definitions For Any Word.Get Your Free Dictionary.com Toolbar.
Ad
verb (used with object)
12.
to fasten or secure (a door, window, building, etc.) by the operation of a lock or locks.
13.
to shut in a place fastened by a lock or locks, as for security or restraint.
14.
to make fast or immovable by or as if by a lock: He locked the steering wheel on his car.
15.
to make fast or immovable, as by engaging parts: to lock the wheels of a wagon.
16.
to join or unite firmly by interlinking or intertwining: to lock arms.
EXPAND
17.
to hold fast in an embrace: She was locked in his arms.
18.
to move (a ship) by means of a lock or locks, as in a canal (often followed by through, in, out, down, or up).
19.
to furnish with locks, as a canal.
COLLAPSE

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Lock up is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
20.
to become locked: This door locks with a key.
21.
to become fastened, fixed, or interlocked: gears that lock into place.
22.
to go or pass by means of a lock or locks, as a vessel.
23.
to construct locks in waterways.
Verb phrases
24.
lock in,
a.
to commit unalterably: to lock in the nomination of the party's candidates.
b.
(of an investor) to be unable or unwilling to sell or shift securities.
25.
lock off, to enclose (a waterway) with a lock.
26.
lock on, to track or follow a target or object automatically by radar or other electronic means.
27.
lock out,
a.
to keep out by or as if by a lock.
b.
to subject (employees) to a lockout.
28.
lock up,
a.
to imprison for a crime.
b.
Printing. to make (type) immovable in a chase by securing the quoins.
c.
to fasten or secure with a lock or locks.
d.
to lock the doors of a house, automobile, etc.
e.
to fasten or fix firmly, as by engaging parts.
Idioms
29.
lock horns, to come into conflict; clash: to lock horns with a political opponent.
30.
lock, stock, and barrel, completely; entirely; including every part, item, or facet, no matter how small or insignificant: We bought the whole business, lock, stock, and barrel.
31.
under lock and key, securely locked up: The documents were under lock and key.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English loc fastening, bar; cognate with Middle Low German lok, Old High German loh, Old Norse lok a cover, lid, Gothic -luk in usluk opening; akin to Old English lūcan to shut

Related forms
lock·less, adjective
self-lock·ing, adjective
well-locked, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To lock up
Collins
World English Dictionary
lock up
 
—vb
1.  (tr) lock in, Also: lock away to imprison or confine
2.  to lock or secure the doors, windows, etc, of (a building)
3.  (tr) to keep or store securely: secrets locked up in history
4.  (tr) to invest (funds) so that conversion into cash is difficult
5.  printing to secure (type, etc) in a chase or in the bed of the printing machine by tightening the quoins
 
—n
6.  the action or time of locking up
7.  a jail or block of cells
8.  (Brit) a small shop with no attached quarters for the owner or shopkeeper
9.  (Brit) a garage or storage place separate from the main premises
10.  stock exchange an investment that is intended to be held for a relatively long period
11.  printing the pages of type held in a chase by the positioning of quoins
 
—adj
12.  (Brit), (NZ) lock-up (of premises) without living accommodation: a lock-up shop

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

lock
"tress of hair," from O.E. locc, from P.Gmc. *lukkoz (cf. O.N. lokkr, O.Fris., Du. lok, Ger. Locke "lock of hair"), from PIE *lugnos-, from base *lug- "to bend, to twist" (cf. Gk. lygos "pliant twig, withe," Lith. lugnas "flexible").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

lock up

  1. Close a house or place of work, fastening all the doors and windows, as in The attendant locks up at eleven o'clock every night, or Did you remind Abby to lock up? [Late 1500s]

  2. Invest in something not easily converted into cash, as in Most of their assets were locked up in real estate. [Late 1600s]

  3. lock someone up. Confine or imprison someone, as in The princes were locked up in the Tower of London. [c. 1300]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know? FIND OUT