unlock
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: communications
electrical-engineering
engineering
mobile-telephony
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
telecommunications
telephony
video-games
Etymology: From Middle English unloken, unlouken, onlouken, from Old English onlūcan (“to unlock”), equivalent to un- + lock. Cognate with Dutch ontluiken (“to unlock”).
Base: lock
Affixes: un-
Inflected forms:
form: unlocks
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: unlocking
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: unlocked
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: unlocked
pos: verb
tags: past
form: unlocks
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To undo or open a lock or something locked by, for example, turning a key, or selecting a combination.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I unlocked the door and walked in.
gloss: To obtain access to something; to meet the requirements of a security or protection system.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I unlocked the dictionary article so I could edit it.
This computer game is shareware, but you can pay for a code to unlock the full version.
Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.
The combination of the new station and road improvements is expected to unlock up to 14,000 new homes, with the council saying no more than 2,500 homes can be built at Beaulieu and north east Chelmsford without the station.
gloss: To configure (a mobile phone) so that it is not bound to any particular carrier.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To disclose or reveal previously unknown knowledge or potential.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: The discovery of a clue unlocked the mystery.
Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.
gloss: To be or become unfastened or unrestrained.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: He had come straight up without mishap or swerving off his course, and his shut teeth unlocked.
gloss: To make available.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
examples: He also warned of the supply chain issues, stating: "Don't pretend you're going to unlock half a dozen [electrification] schemes simultaneously because you'll probably flood the supply chain, we don't have the capacity."
gloss: To undermine something that has control over a situation; to find a way to counter or oppose.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Saka's cross unlocked a well-organised Ukraine defence for Kane to pounce and set England on their way before producing a superb piece of individual skill to effectively end the contest.
gloss: The act of unlocking something.
pos: noun
examples: Unlike modern, automated prisons, each cell here was locked and unlocked manually with a large skeleton key. The first duty was to get a proper head count of each inmate, insuring each was alive. Once done, an unlock was conducted.
The instructions between a lock and an unlock form a critical section.
gloss: An initially hidden feature that is made available to reward the player for some achievement.
pos: noun
examples: The other unlocks, like a grenade launcher or a sniper's steady ability, didn't fit into my playstyle.
Derived words: achievement unlocked
Translations: