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unlock

 - 3 dictionary results

un⋅lock

[uhn-lok]
–verb (used with object)
1. to undo the lock of (a door, chest, etc.), esp. with a key.
2. to open or release by or as if by undoing a lock.
3. to open (anything firmly closed or joined): to unlock the jaws.
4. to lay open; disclose: to unlock the secrets of one's heart.
–verb (used without object)
5. to become unlocked.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME unloken; see un- 2 , lock 1


un⋅lock⋅a⋅ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To unlock
un·lock   (ŭn-lŏk')   
v.   un·locked, un·lock·ing, un·locks

v.   tr.
    1. To undo (a lock) by turning a key or corresponding part.

    2. To undo the lock of.

  1. To give access to; open.

  2. To set free; release: The news unlocked a torrent of emotion.

  3. To provide a key to; disclose or reveal: unlock a mystery.

v.   intr.
To become unfastened, loosened, or freed from something that restrains.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

unlock 
c.1400, from un- (2) + lock (v.). Fig. sense is attested from 1531.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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