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padlock.

A detachable lock that can be used to secure something by means of a sliding or hinged shackle

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpæ̞dˌlɒk/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpædˌlɑk/General-American/ˈpæ̞dˌlɔk/Australia
  1. A detachable lock that can be used to secure something by means of a sliding or hinged shackle

Where this word comes from

From earlier pad lock (19th c.); Middle English padlock, padlokke, from pad-, of unknown origin, + lok (“lock”). Perhaps originally a lock for a pad (“gate”), or a gate opening to a path, or a lock for a basket or pannier, from UK dialect pad (“a pannier”).

verb/ˈpæ̞dˌlɒk/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpædˌlɑk/General-American/ˈpæ̞dˌlɔk/Australia
  1. To lock using a padlock.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From earlier pad lock (19th c.); Middle English padlock, padlokke, from pad-, of unknown origin, + lok (“lock”). Perhaps originally a lock for a pad (“gate”), or a gate opening to a path, or a lock for a basket or pannier, from UK dialect pad (“a pannier”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.