Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lock-in

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.51 in modern English

Syllables: lock--in
IPA

12

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A sleepover party, usually held in a public place such as a church or school, in which the participants are not allowed to leave until the next morning.

American usage

noun

An illegal but widely-tolerated invitation-only gathering in a pub, after the end of licensing hours, to allow regular customers the opportunity to enjoy further drinking time.

British usage

noun

A situation in which a business has adopted a certain standard or product from a specific manufacturer and integrated it into their process, thus making it very costly to change to a different standard or supplier.

noun

The situation where an investor cannot trade without incurring an undesirable penalty such as taxation.

Example Sentences

"The youth group will have their annual lock-in this weekend."
"He was a lunatic drunk and started sing songs that lasted into the early hours of the morning and resulted in many weekend lock-ins in the village pub."
"vendor lock-in"

Etymology

Deverbal from lock in.

Usage

American usage
British usage

Inflected Forms

lock-ins (plural) lockin (alternative)

Phrases

generational lock-in

Frequently Paired Words

lockaway lockout

Synonyms

wakeover

Questions

What does lock-in mean?: A sleepover party, usually held in a public place such as a church or school, in which the participants are not allowed to leave until the next morning.
Where does lock-in come from?: Deverbal from lock in.

How to pronounce lock-in

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lock-in”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “lock-in” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.