Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To confine or secure someone or something in a place from which they cannot escape or be removed. This meaning emphasizes physical restraint or secure containment.
   • To seal something tightly, thereby preserving or trapping its contents or qualities. This meaning is often used figuratively to describe preventing something from being lost or changed.

Usage and Examples

• Verb (confining/securing):

  • The warden decided to lock in the unruly prisoner for the night.
  • Before the storm, we locked all the valuable equipment in the storage shed.

• Verb (sealing/preserving):

  • This special container locks in freshness for weeks.
  • The new contract locks in the current interest rate for five years.

Advanced Usage

• "to be locked in" (idiomatic/adjectival phrase): To be firmly committed, engaged, or unable to change a decision or course of action.

  • Once you sign the agreement, you are locked in for the duration of the project.
  • The two chess players were locked in a fierce battle for first place.

• "to lock oneself in": To voluntarily confine oneself in a place.

  • He locked himself in his study to finish writing his book.

Variants and Related Words

• Lock-in (noun): An event or situation where people are confined in a place for a specific activity (e.g., a store promotion or a team-building event).

  • The library is having an all-night study lock-in for final exams.

• Locked (adjective): The state of being secured or fastened.

• Lockable (adjective): Capable of being locked.

Synonyms

• Confine: To keep or restrict someone or something within certain limits.
• Secure: To fix or fasten something firmly so it cannot be moved or lost.
• Enclose: To surround or close off on all sides.
• Preserve: To maintain something in its original or existing state.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Lock away: To put something in a locked place for safekeeping or to imprison someone. Often implies long-term storage or confinement.
  • She locked away her grandmother's letters in a trunk.
• Lock up: Very similar to "lock in" for the confining meaning. It can also mean to secure a building by locking its doors.
  • Don't forget to lock up the office when you leave.

Related Idioms

• Lock, stock, and barrel: Completely, including every part.
  • They sold the business lock, stock, and barrel.
• Lock horns: To become involved in a conflict or argument.
  • The managers locked horns over the new budget.

Verb

1. place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape
   • The parents locked her daughter up for the weekend
   • She locked her jewels in the safe
2. close with or as if with a tight seal
   • This vacuum pack locks in the flavor!