/ lætʃ; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a small metal bar that is used to fasten a door or a gate. You raise it to open the door, and drop it into a metal hook to fasten it :
He lifted the latch and opened the door.
2.
( especially BrE ) a type of lock on a door that needs a key to open it from the outside :
She listened for his key in the latch.
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IDIOMS
- on the latch
■ verb
[ vn ] to fasten sth with a latch
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PHRASAL VERBS
- latch on (to sth) | latch onto sth
- latch on (to sb/sth) | latch onto sb/sth
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English læccan take hold of, grasp (physically or mentally) , of Germanic origin.