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Lock vs Clamp - What's the difference?

lock | clamp | Related terms |

In intransitive terms the difference between lock and clamp

is that lock is to be capable of becoming fastened in place while clamp is to tread heavily or clumsily; to clump or clomp.

In transitive terms the difference between lock and clamp

is that lock is to intertwine or dovetail while clamp is to modify a numeric value so it lies within a specific range.

As a proper noun Lock

is {{surname|lang=en}.

lock

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination.
  • * 1883 , (Robert Louis Stevenson), (Treasure Island)
  • "Give me the key," said my mother; and though the lock was very stiff, she had turned it and thrown back the lid in a twinkling.
  • *, chapter=13
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time. 'Twas locked, of course, but the Deacon man got a big bunch of keys out of his pocket and commenced to putter with the lock .}}
  • A mutex or other token restricting access to a resource.
  • * 2005 , Karl Kopper, The Linux Enterprise Cluster
  • the application must first acquire a lock on a file or a portion of a file before reading data and modifying it.
  • A segment of a canal or other waterway enclosed by gates, used for raising and lowering boats between levels.
  • * 1846 , (William Makepeace Thackeray), Notes of a Journey from Cornhill to Grand Cairo
  • Here the canal came to a check, ending abruptly with a large lock .
  • The firing mechanism of a gun.
  • * 1837 , (Charles Dickens), (The Pickwick Papers)
  • "I never saw such a gun in my life," replied poor Winkle, looking at the lock , as if that would do any good.
  • Complete control over a situation.
  • * 2003 , (Charley Rosen), The Wizard of Odds
  • Even though he had not yet done so, Jack felt he had a lock on the game.
  • Something sure to be a success.
  • * 2004 , (Avery Corman), A perfect divorce
  • Brian thinks she's a lock to get a scholarship somewhere.
  • (label) A player in the scrum behind the front row, usually the tallest members of the team.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=Septembe 24, author=Ben Dirs, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= Rugby World Cup 2011: England 67-3 Romania , passage=Ashton only had to wait three minutes for his second try, lock Louis Deacon setting it up with a rollocking line-break, before Romania got on the scoreboard courtesy of a penalty from fly-half Marin Danut Dumbrava. }}
  • A fastening together or interlacing; a closing of one thing upon another; a state of being fixed or immovable.
  • * (Thomas De Quincey) (1785-1859)
  • Albemarle Street closed by a lock of carriages
  • A place from which egress is prevented, as by a lock.
  • (Dryden)
  • A device for keeping a wheel from turning.
  • A grapple in wrestling.
  • (Milton)
    Derived terms
    * alcolock * ankle lock * anti-lock * caps lock * flash lock * flat lock * flintlock * genlock * gridlock * leglock * liplock * lockfast * lock time * * lockbox * lockmaster * locknote * locksmithing * lockstep * matchlock * num lock * overlock * padlock * picklock * scroll lock * staircase lock * tide lock * time lock

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (label) To become fastened in place.
  • *, chapter=13
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time. 'Twas locked , of course, but the Deacon man got a big bunch of keys out of his pocket and commenced to putter with the lock.}}
  • (label) To fasten with a lock.
  • (label) To be capable of becoming fastened in place.
  • (label) To intertwine or dovetail.
  • To freeze one's body or a part thereof in place.
  • To furnish (a canal) with locks.
  • To raise or lower (a boat) in a lock.
  • Antonyms
    * unlock
    Derived terms
    * lock and load * lock horns * lock in * lock lips * lock on * lock out * lock up * lockable * relock * unlockable

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (m). Cognate with (etyl) (m) (whence (etyl) (m)), (etyl) (m). It has been theorised that the word may be related to the (etyl) verb in its ancient meaning to curb .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • tuft or length of hair
  • *
  • If I consent to burn them, will you promise faithfully neither to send nor receive a letter again, nor a book (for I perceive you have sent him books), nor locks of hair, nor rings, nor playthings?
    Derived terms
    * daglock * elflock * forelock * goldilocks * sidelock

    clamp

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things together.
  • A mass of bricks heaped up to be burned; or of ore for roasting, or of coal coking.
  • A piece of wood (batten) across the grain of a board end to keep it flat, as in a breadboard.
  • A heavy footstep; a tramp.
  • Derived terms

    * clover clamp * nipple clamp

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (intransitive) To fasten in place or together with (or as if with) a clamp .
  • * 1897 , (Bram Stoker), (Dracula) Chapter 21
  • As we burst into the room, the Count turned his face, and the hellish look that I had heard described seemed to leap into it. His eyes flamed red with devilish passion. The great nostrils of the white aquiline nose opened wide and quivered at the edge, and the white sharp teeth, behind the full lips of the blood dripping mouth, clamped together like those of a wild beast.
  • To tread heavily or clumsily; to clump or clomp.
  • * Thackeray
  • The policeman with clamping feet.
  • To hold or grip tightly.
  • To modify a numeric value so it lies within a specific range.
  • (UK, obsolete, transitive) To cover (vegetables, etc.) with earth.
  • Derived terms

    * clamp down

    See also

    * clasp * vise, vice