Unlock
verbTo open something by releasing its lock, or to make something accessible that was previously closed off.
How to spell unlock
6 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce unlock
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does unlock mean?
- verbTo open something by releasing its lock, or to make something accessible that was previously closed off.
Unlock in a sentence
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She used the spare key to unlock the front door.
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Enter your passcode to unlock the phone.
Where does unlock come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
The word unlock joins the prefix un-, which in Old English signalled reversing or undoing an action, to the verb lock, which descends from the Old English loc meaning a fastening, bolt, or enclosure. That noun loc also gave us the lock on a door and the older sense of a locked enclosure, and it is related to similar words across the Germanic languages for things that close or shut. By the 1400s English speakers were combining un- with lock to mean the literal opening of a fastened bolt or door. From there the meaning broadened naturally to figurative senses, such as unlocking a phone, a secret, or a person's potential. Because both halves of the word are everyday English roots, the spelling is straightforward and rarely trips writers up.
How the word is built
- un- (reversal/undo)
- lock (from Old English loc: a fastening)
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