lock out 1 of 2

verb

Definition of lock outnext
as in to walk

Related Words

Relevance

lockout

2 of 2

noun

as in sit-down

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lock out
Verb
The district has specifically directed the company to lock out the gas and electrical lines. — Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 24 Aug. 2026 Grocery stores can use the 2D codes to remove about-to-expire food and lock out spoiled items from getting rung up at checkout. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
Noun
Castro assumes his role at a time of uncertainty for the 2027 baseball season, with a lockout looking increasingly likely and the annual Winter Meetings in December potentially subject to cancellation. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026 During a lockout or work stoppage, existing player contracts are generally frozen or burn through the calendar year rather than be nullified. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lock out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lock out
  1. walk
  2. sit-down
  3. walk out
  4. slowdown
  5. walkout
  6. job action
  7. sick-out
Verb
  • When Burden was walked off the field during Sunday night's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bears fans immediately took to social media looking for updates on his condition.
    — Marissa Sulek, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Having lost both his friend and his horn, Norden is in shock and sunk in grief, while the human visitors walk right past him, laughing and chattering away.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of walk
Noun
  • Ahead of the sit-down dinner and ceremony, guests such as Storm Reid, Christine Quinn, Jurnee Smollett, and Lukas Gage trickled in from the rainy outdoors over an hour or so, greeted inside with Casamigos cocktails, filet mignon canapés, and more.
    — Jamila Stewart, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2023
  • The seven new sit-down restaurants are serving an impressive mix of Italian, Eastern European, Brazilian, French and Mexican food.
    — Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 17 Mar. 2023
Definition of sit-down
Verb
  • These days, walking out of a Rolex boutique with one seems nearly impossible.
    — Zach Weiss, Robb Report, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The Ravens’ hardnosed identity as a team seemingly walked out the door the day Harbaugh did.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of walk out
Noun
  • The fresh data arrived at a delicate moment for the central bank, where policymakers are weighing a rate increase that could help tackle inflation but risks a slowdown in hiring.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Without such a slowdown, Amodei warned AI could be capable of letting loose a swarm of agents that could take over the entire internet within six to 12 months.
    — Michelle Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of slowdown
Noun
  • Walsh was one of more than 50 students who participated in a school walkout at New Trier Wednesday morning.
    — Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Javits, who dreamed of becoming a doctor, was remembered fondly Monday when his fellow students staged a walkout and spoke out about bullying and gun violence.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of walkout
Noun
  • The pilots’ job action was in protest of the Belgian government’s reforms to federal pensions.
    — Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 15 Oct. 2025
  • The job action shut down the entirety of New Jersey Transit’s rail service, from the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains in New York to Atlantic City — including, most notably, trains into and out of Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan.
    — Dan Barry, New York Times, 18 May 2025
Definition of job action
Noun
  • Last season, Maggie faced nursing union negotiations, culminating in a sick-out.
    — Claire Franken, TVLine, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Maggie’s major Season 10 storyline involved the tense nursing union negotiations at the hospital, which culminated in a sick-out.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025
Definition of sick-out

Browse Nearby Words

locking (up)
lock out
lockout
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lock out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lock%20out. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gauntlet

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All