interlock
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To fit or clasp together securely.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihnterlahkSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪntɚˈlɑk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
ambitransitive
To fit or clasp together securely.
To interlace.
noun
A safety device that prevents activation in unsafe conditions.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (ambitransitive) To fit or clasp together securely.
Used this way, interlock is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use interlock
- “An interlocking of arms by the police held the crowd in check.”noun
- “Car theives know how to bypass the ignition interlock.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Contact by fitting together.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A device that prevents an automotive engine from starting.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.