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Shut vs Lock - What's the difference?

shut | lock |

In transitive terms the difference between shut and lock

is that shut is to close, to stop from being open while lock is to intertwine or dovetail.

In intransitive terms the difference between shut and lock

is that shut is to close, to stop being open while lock is to be capable of becoming fastened in place.

As an adjective shut

is closed.

As a proper noun Lock is

{{surname|lang=en}.

shut

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) shutten, shetten, from (etyl) .

Verb

  • To close, to stop from being open.
  • Please shut the door.
    The light was so bright I had to shut my eyes.
  • To close, to stop being open.
  • If you wait too long, the automatic door will shut .
  • (transitive, or, intransitive, chiefly, British) To close a business temporarily, or (of a business) to be closed.
  • The pharmacy is shut on Sunday.
  • To preclude; to exclude; to bar out.
  • * Dryden
  • shut from every shore
    Usage notes
    Except when part of one of the derived terms listed below, almost every use of shut'' can be replaced by ''close''. The reverse is not true -- there are many uses of ''close'' that cannot be replaced by ''shut .
    Derived terms
    (phrasal verbs derived from shut) * shut away * shut down * shut in * shut off * shut out * shut up (single words and compounds derived from shut) * shutdown, shut-down * shut-eye * shut-in * shutout, shut-out * shutter (idioms derived from shut) * open and shut * shut one's eyes to * shut the door on * shut up shop * shut your face * shut your mouth * shut your trap

    Adjective

    (-)
  • closed
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act or time of shutting; close.
  • the shut of a door
  • * Milton
  • Just then returned at shut of evening flowers.
  • A door or cover; a shutter.
  • (Sir Isaac Newton)
  • The line or place where two pieces of metal are welded together.
  • Etymology 2

    Variation of (chute) or (shute) (archaic, related to (shoot)) from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A narrow alley]] or [[passageway, passage acting as a short cut through the buildings between two streets.
  • Synonyms
    * (alleyway) alley, gennel (Northern Ireland), ginnel (Yorkshire and Lancashire), gitty (East Midlands), jitty (Midlands), passage, snicket (Northern England), wynd (Scotland)

    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