Locking

How to spell locking

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce locking

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does locking mean?

1. verbThe act of fastening something securely with a lock, or fixing something firmly in place.

Locking in a sentence

• Locking the front door before bed had become part of her nightly routine.

• The new locking mechanism on the gate jammed in cold weather.

Where does locking come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the present participle and gerund of the verb 'lock', which descends from the Old English noun loc, meaning a fastening, a bolt, or an enclosure. That word belonged to a wider family of Germanic terms for things that close or shut, related to the Old Norse loka 'bolt' and the Dutch luiken 'to shut'. The original sense covered any device that secured something, and over the centuries it narrowed toward the metal mechanism we picture today, while still surviving in extended senses such as a lock of hair (a confined, gathered bunch) and a canal lock (an enclosed chamber that traps water). The verb 'to lock' was in use by the early Middle Ages, and the -ing ending simply turns it into the ongoing action or the act itself. Because the short vowel sound keeps the consonant doubled before -ing, the spelling stays 'locking' with two letters, the same pattern seen in 'kicking' and 'ticking'.

How the word is built

• lock (Old English loc: fastening, bolt)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)