n.
Function: transitive verb
Date: 14th century
1 a : to fasten the lock of b : to make fast with or as if with a lock < lock up the house>
2 a : to fasten in or out or to make secure or inaccessible by or as if by means of locks < lock ed himself away from the curious world> < lock ed her husband out> b : to fix in a particular situation or method of operation <a team firmly lock ed in last place>
3 a : to make fast, motionless, or inflexible especially by the interlacing or interlocking of parts < lock wheels> < lock a knee> b : to hold in a close embrace c : to grapple in combat also : to bind closely <administration and students were lock ed in conflict>
4 : to invest (capital) without assurance of easy convertibility into money
5 : to move or permit to pass (as a ship) by raising or lowering in a lock
intransitive verb
1 a : to become locked b : to be capable of being locked
2 : INTERLACE , INTERLOCK
3 : to go or pass by means of a lock (as in a canal)
– lock · able \ ' lä-k ə -b ə l \ adjective
– lock horns : to come into conflict
– lock on or lock onto : to acquire (as a target or signal) automatically using a sensor (as radar)