Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
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lock

verb US /lɑːk/

fasten with a lock

How often you will meet it

Rank 2,684 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 6,212 times across 175,177 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.

What it means

verb

  1. fasten with a lock lock the bike to the fence
  2. keep engaged also: engage, mesh, operate engaged the gears
  3. become rigid or immoveable The therapist noticed that the patient's knees tended to lock in this exercise
  4. hold in a locking position also: interlock, interlace He locked his hands around her neck
  5. become engaged or intermeshed with one another also: interlock They were locked in embrace
  6. hold fast (in a certain state) He was locked in a laughing fit

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

lock in real books

Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.

  • But rafts that strain, Parted, shall they lock again?

    John Marr and Other Poems · Herman Melville · Chapter 1

  • He plucked a lock of wool from his blue smock.

    Actions and reactions · Rudyard Kipling · Chapter 1

  • Might I advise you now, your only course Were to lock up your wife.

    The White Devil · John Webster · Chapter 1

  • Not a single lock was in order, whether in the bureau or the secretary.

    Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1

  • The detective took a key from his pocket and inserted it in the lock.

    The Abandoned Room · Wadsworth Camp · Chapter 1

Nearby in the frequency table

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