lock-jaw

A patient with lock-jaw struggles to open their mouth.

Definition

1. Noun (Medicine):
   • A condition of tetanus: "lock-jaw" is a colloquial term for tetanus, a serious bacterial infection that causes painful muscle spasms, particularly in the jaw and neck muscles, often leading to the jaw being "locked" shut.
   • Symptom of tetanus: It specifically refers to the inability to open the mouth due to muscle stiffness, a hallmark symptom of the disease.

Usage Examples

• (A medical condition where the jaw becomes rigid.)
• (Tetanus infection.)
• (The symptom of tetanus following an injury.)

Advanced Usage

• "to have lock-jaw": to suffer from tetanus, especially with jaw muscle spasms.

  • The horse had lock-jaw and could not eat. (The animal was affected by tetanus.)

• "lock-jaw" as a metaphor: used figuratively to describe someone who is stubbornly silent or unable to speak.

  • He got lock-jaw during the interview and couldn't answer a single question. (He became speechless from nervousness.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lockjaw (n): an alternative spelling without a hyphen, meaning the same condition.

  • The child was vaccinated against lockjaw. (The tetanus vaccine.)

• Tetanus (n): the formal medical term for the disease.

  • Tetanus is prevented through routine immunization. (The scientific name for lock-jaw.)

Synonyms

• Tetanus: the clinical name for the infection causing lock-jaw.
• Trismus: the medical term specifically for the jaw muscle spasm symptom.

Related Idioms

• "to have a lock-jaw grip": a figurative expression meaning to hold something very tightly or tenaciously.
  • The wrestler had a lock-jaw grip on his opponent. (An extremely strong hold.)

Phrasal Verbs

• Lock up (of jaw): to become rigid or immobile, as in lock-jaw.
  • His jaw locked up after the accident. (His jaw muscles stiffened, preventing movement.)