lock
/lɑk/noun, verb
lock is spelled L-O-C-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lock means “Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lock is locks.
How many letters and syllables are in lock?
| Letters | 4: L-O-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 32 times per million words; the 2,941st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lock?
Lock appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lock?
- UK /lɒk/
- US /lɑk/
Lock has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lock.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with lock
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: loch, lough (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with lock?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lock from its last stressed vowel (/ɑk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lock
- locks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- locking participle, present
- locked past, participle
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lock mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination.
- 2
A mutex or other token restricting access to a resource.
- 3
A segment of a canal or other navigable waterway enclosed by gates, used for raising and lowering boats between levels.
- 4
The firing mechanism in a gun.
- 5
Complete control over a situation.
- 6
Something sure to be a success.
- 7
Synonym of Dutch book.
- 8
A player in the scrum behind the front row, usually the tallest members of the team.
- 9
A tuft or length of hair, wool, etc.
- 10
A small quantity of straw etc.
- 11
A quantity of meal, the perquisite of a mill-servant.
- 12
A single dreadlock.
verb
- 1
To become fastened in place.
If you put the brakes on too hard, the wheels will lock.
- 2
To fasten with a lock.
Remember to lock the door when you leave.
- 3
To be capable of becoming fastened in place.
This door locks with a key.
- 4
To intertwine or dovetail.
with his hands locked behind his back
- 5
To freeze one's body or a part thereof in place.
a pop and lock routine
- 6
To furnish (a canal) with locks.
- 7
To raise or lower (a boat) in a lock.
- 8
To seize (e.g. the sword arm of an antagonist) by turning one's left arm around it, to disarm them.
- 9
To form a dreadlock.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lock in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | verrou, cadenas, serrure , écluse, sas , se bloquer |
| German | Schloss , Schleuse, Schiffshebewerk , blockieren , Lock , abschließen |
| Portuguese | fechadura, cadeado , eclusa , trancar , trava , cacho |
| Spanish | cerradura, candado, chapa, piesllo, cerrojo, pestillo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lock come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).