Lock vs. Unlock — What's the Difference?

A device operated by a key, combination, or keycard and used, as on a door, for holding, closing, or securing.

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

A section of a waterway, such as a canal, closed off with gates, in which vessels in transit are raised or lowered by raising or lowering the water level of that section.

To undo the lock of.

A mechanism in a firearm for exploding the charge.

To give access to; open.

An interlocking or entanglement of elements or parts.

To set free; release

(Sports) A hold in wrestling or self-defense that is secured on a part of an opponent's body.

To provide a key to; disclose or reveal

A secure hold; control

To become unfastened, loosened, or freed from something that restrains.

A sure thing; a certainty

(transitive) To undo or open a lock or something locked by, for example, turning a key, or selecting a combination.

A length or curl of hair; a tress.

(transitive) To obtain access to something; to meet the requirements of a security or protection system.

Often locks The hair of the head.

To configure (a mobile phone) so that it is not bound to any particular carrier.

A small wisp or tuft, as of wool or cotton.

(transitive) To disclose or reveal previously unknown knowledge or potential.

To fasten the lock of

(intransitive) To be or become unfastened or unrestrained.

To shut or make secure with or as if with locks

(figurative) To make available.

To confine or exclude by or as if by means of a lock

To undermine something that has control over a situation; to find a way to counter or oppose.

To fix in place so that movement or escape is impossible; hold fast

The act of unlocking something.

To sight and follow (a moving target) automatically

To unfasten, as what is locked; as, to unlock a door or a chest.

To aim (a weapon or other device) at a moving target so as to follow it automatically

To open, in general; to lay open; to undo.

To clasp or link firmly; intertwine or interlock

Open the lock of;

To bind in close struggle or battle

Set free or release

To equip (a waterway) with locks.

Become unlocked;

To pass (a vessel) through a lock.

To invest (funds) in such a way that they cannot easily be converted into cash.

To arrange or secure (an interest rate) for a loan.

To end the processing of (a magnetic tape or disk) in such a way as to deny access to its contents.

To protect (a file) from changes or deletion.

To become fastened by or as if by means of a lock

To become entangled or jammed; interlock.

To become rigid or immobile

To pass through a lock or locks in a waterway.

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 waterway enclosed by gates, used for raising and lowering boats between levels.

(gun mechanisms) The firing mechanism.

Complete control over a situation.

Something sure to be a success.

(rugby) 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.

A tuft or length of hair, wool, etc.

A small quantity of straw etc.

A quantity of meal, the perquisite of a mill-servant.

(intransitive) To become fastened in place.

(transitive) To fasten with a lock.

(intransitive) To be capable of becoming fastened in place.

(transitive) 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.

To modify (a thread) so that users cannot make new posts in it.

To prevent a page from being edited by other users.

To play in the position of lock.

A tuft of hair; a flock or small quantity of wool, hay, or other like substance; a tress or ringlet of hair.

Anything that fastens; specifically, a fastening, as for a door, a lid, a trunk, a drawer, and the like, in which a bolt is moved by a key so as to hold or to release the thing fastened.

A fastening together or interlacing; a closing of one thing upon another; a state of being fixed or immovable.

A place from which egress is prevented, as by a lock.

The barrier or works which confine the water of a stream or canal.

An inclosure in a canal with gates at each end, used in raising or lowering boats as they pass from one level to another; - called also lift lock.

That part or apparatus of a firearm by which the charge is exploded; as, a matchlock, flintlock, percussion lock, etc.

A device for keeping a wheel from turning.

A grapple in wrestling.

To fasten with a lock, or as with a lock; to make fast; to prevent free movement of; as, to lock a door, a carriage wheel, a river, etc.

To prevent ingress or access to, or exit from, by fastening the lock or locks of; - often with up; as, to lock or lock up, a house, jail, room, trunk. etc.

To fasten in or out, or to make secure by means of, or as with, locks; to confine, or to shut in or out - often with up; as, to lock one's self in a room; to lock up the prisoners; to lock up one's silver; to lock intruders out of the house; to lock money into a vault; to lock a child in one's arms; to lock a secret in one's breast.

To link together; to clasp closely; as, to lock arms.

To furnish with locks; also, to raise or lower (a boat) in a lock.

To seize, as the sword arm of an antagonist, by turning the left arm around it, to disarm him.

To become fast, as by means of a lock or by interlacing; as, the door locks close.

A fastener fitted to a door or drawer to keep it firmly closed

A strand or cluster of hair

A mechanism that detonates the charge of a gun

Enclosure consisting of a section of canal that can be closed to control the water level; used to raise or lower vessels that pass through it

A restraint incorporated into the ignition switch to prevent the use of a vehicle by persons who do not have the key

Any wrestling hold in which some part of the opponent's body is twisted or pressured

Fasten with a lock;

Keep engaged;

Become rigid or immoveable;

Hold in a locking position;

Become engaged or intermeshed with one another;

Hold fast (in a certain state);

Place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape;

Pass by means through a lock in a waterway

Build locks in order to facilitate the navigation of vessels