lock-in

[ lok-in ]

noun
  1. an act or instance of becoming unalterable, unmovable, or rigid.

  2. commitment, binding, or restriction.

Origin of lock-in

1
First recorded in 1965–70; noun use of verb phrase lock in

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lock-in in a sentence

  • I knew very well what his "warning" meant,—lockin the stable-door but stealin the hoss fust.

    Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush | William Makepeace Thackeray
  • Heave him up atween ye, men, an' we'll be lockin' of him up in a safe place.

    The Harbor Master | Theodore Goodridge Roberts
  • Your mind has gone quite on the downfall—lockin' doors against your own bread and butter an' soap.

    Contemporary One-Act Plays | Sir James M. Barrie
  • An' at that, my main idee in lockin' him up is one of reeform rather than restraint.

    Faro Nell and Her Friends | Alfred Henry Lewis
  • But hain't none of ye ever laughed 'bout lockin' the stable door after the hoss is stolen?

British Dictionary definitions for lock-in

lock-in

noun
  1. an illegal session of selling alcohol in a bar after the time when it should, by law, be closed

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with lock-in

lock-in

Enclose, surround, as in The ship was completely locked in ice. [c. 1400s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.