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Definition of double lock in English:

double lock

(also double-lock)

noun

  • A type of spring lock which may be used as a deadlock 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

  • with object Fasten (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.’