A type of spring lock that may be used as a deadbolt by an extra turn of the key.
‘Slowly, I reached out to shut off the ringer on the phone, then went to the door and made sure that all the deadbolts and double locks were securely in place.’
‘Only I'd forgotten his door had one of those ridiculous double locks with a combination, and I couldn't open it.’
‘The house came with locks for all the windows and double locks for the doors.’
‘To get through a lock took the best part of 5 minutes and at double locks it took 8 minutes.’
‘His latest invention has a double lock using one nine-levers lock and one seven-levers lock which secure the side and top of the safe door.’
‘Thieves broke into my 80-year-old husband's shed last Thursday and cleaned out all the electrical items - despite double locks on the door.’
‘After the original theft, he had double locks fitted to the aviaries, but this time the thieves virtually ripped the hinges off to reach the birds.’
‘I'm thinking double locks for the front door, maybe stocking up on beer and snacks in case martial law is declared.’
‘Karl set his toolbox down beside the huge apparatus and flipped the double locks open.’
‘He has bought a letter-box guard for £35 and now double locks his front door at night.’
verb
double-lock
with objectFasten (a door) with two locks, or with a double lock.
‘don't forget to double-lock Wayne's door’
‘But we are also abandoning red meat, drinking bottled water, double-locking our doors at night and sending our kids out with a crash helmet when they're pedalling the trike around the lawn.’
‘After double-locking the door behind her, you vow to start driving - being around the public is even more of a risk than road traffic accidents.’
‘‘The front door is double-locked,’ I said in a reassuring tone.’
‘But the moment the tabloid hack entered, Robby quickly double-locked the door behind him.’
‘The door is double-locked, with chains and bolts, because behind it lies all manner of secrets.’
‘‘I've been so afraid since the explosions that I tell my children to double-lock the doors when they go home alone,’ Lotfi said.’
‘Then they heard him enter his apartment, slam and double-lock his door.’
‘Then I went to the shed, picked up a house brick, smashed the glass on the back door, rejoiced that for once it wasn't double-locked and let myself in.’
‘Patio doors leading into the back gardens from homes are double-locked, says Terry, and gates leading to alleys can be locked too.’
‘He also claims the arresting officer continued to tighten the handcuffs and double-locked them even after he had complained they were hurting him.’
‘Their doors aren't just closed; they are bolted shut and double-locked, with tiny cracks allowing only for notes to be slipped through.’
‘The prospector rumbled about a trunk, closing the lid and double-locking it.’
‘When he is gone she double locks the door and puts the chain on.’
‘By analogy, when I double lock my front door at night it is not because I believe that my house will be burgled if I do not - even though, as it happens, I do live in a high crime area.’
‘If not, Ruth had better double lock the doors, as George is likely to show up to bang on them again in a big rage.’
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