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Antonyms for locking up


Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : lok
Phonetic Transcription : lɒk



Definition of locking up

Origin :
  • "means of fastening," Old English loc "bolt, fastening; barrier, enclosure," from Proto-Germanic *lukan (cf. Old Norse lok "fastening, lock," Gothic usluks "opening," Old High German loh "dungeon," German Loch "opening, hole," Dutch luik "shutter, trapdoor"). "The great diversity of meaning in the Teut. words seems to indicate two or more independent but formally identical substantival formations from the root."
  • The Old English sense "barrier, enclosure" led to the specific meaning "barrier on a river" (c.1300), and the more specific sense "gate and sluice system on a water channel used as a means of raising and lowering boats" (1570s). Wrestling sense is from c.1600. Phrase under lock and key attested from early 14c.
  • As in imprisonment : noun placing in forcible detention
  • As in imprison : verb confine; put in jail
  • As in incarcerate : verb put in jail, confinement
  • As in jail : verb incarcerate
  • As in monopolize : verb dominate, control
  • As in assure : verb make certain
  • As in possess : verb have or obtain
  • As in prohibit : verb make impossible; stop
  • As in put away : verb incarcerate
  • As in restrain : verb keep under control; hold back
  • As in secure : verb obtain
  • As in secure : verb attach, tie up
  • As in store : verb collect and put aside
  • As in tie/tie up : verb hamper, hinder
  • As in bind : verb obligate; restrict
  • As in tie up : verb hamper
  • As in cage : verb hold in enclosure
  • As in acquire : verb obtain or receive
  • As in immobilize : verb tie
  • As in mew : verb enclose
  • As in stash : verb hide
  • As in coop : verb confine
  • As in corral : verb enclose
  • As in affirm : verb declare the truth of something
  • As in enclose : verb put inside, surround
  • As in ensure : verb guarantee; make secure
  • As in forbid : verb outlaw, prohibit an action
  • As in get : verb come into possession of; achieve
  • As in have : verb be in possession
  • As in hide : verb conceal; remain unseen
  • As in hold : verb have in one's hands, possession; grasp
Example sentences :
  • When the hour came for locking up, he supposed all strangers to be excluded for the night.
  • Extract from : « Little Dorrit » by Charles Dickens
  • But we will not have any more tricks played at locking up Ketch.
  • Extract from : « The Channings » by Mrs. Henry Wood
  • Yes, but she must be quick for he was locking up for the night, and there was but a minute or so to spare.
  • Extract from : « Barnaby Rudge » by Charles Dickens
  • After locking up, he thought carefully about what Uncle Ingemar had said.
  • Extract from : « The Status Civilization » by Robert Sheckley
  • He was just locking up as I passed, so I told him, and sent him off.
  • Extract from : « The Borough Treasurer » by Joseph Smith Fletcher
  • I'm so used to locking up the house at nights that I did it without thinking.
  • Extract from : « The Hand in the Dark » by Arthur J. Rees
  • Any place in which he was in the habit of locking up papers, for instance?
  • Extract from : « The Chestermarke Instinct » by J. S. Fletcher
  • She was telling me about seeing the face and locking up the house.
  • Extract from : « Shoe-Bar Stratton » by Joseph Bushnell Ames
  • A youth was just locking up the ticket-office and going off as they reached it.
  • Extract from : « McClure's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, No. 3, July 1908. » by Various
  • He did not even wait to assist her in the process of locking up.
  • Extract from : « A Modern Chronicle, Complete » by Winston Churchill

Synonyms for locking up

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019