lock

Pronunciation: /lɒk/

The English word “lock” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination.
A mutex or other token restricting access to a resource.
A segment of a canal or other navigable waterway enclosed by gates, used for raising and lowering boats between levels.
The firing mechanism in a gun.
Complete control over a situation.
Something sure to be a success.
Synonym of Dutch book.
A player in the scrum behind the front row, usually the tallest members of the team.
A fastening together or interlacing; a closing of one thing upon another; a state of being fixed or immovable.
A place impossible to get out of, as by a lock.
A device for keeping a wheel from turning.
A grapple in wrestling.

verb

To become fastened in place.
To fasten with a lock.
To be capable of becoming fastened in place.
To intertwine or dovetail.
To freeze one's body or a part thereof in place.
To furnish (a canal) with locks.
To raise or lower (a boat) in a lock.
To seize (e.g. the sword arm of an antagonist) by turning one's left arm around it, to disarm them.

Etymology

From Middle English lok, from Old English loc, from Proto-West Germanic *lok, from Proto-Germanic *luką from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend; turn”). Cognate with Cimbrian loch, lòch (“hole”), Dutch lok (“hole”), German Loch (“hole”), German Low German Lock (“hole”), Luxembourgish Lach (“hole”), Vilamovian łöch (“hole”), Yiddish לאָך (lokh, “hole”), Danish låg (“lid, cover”), Norwegian…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.