Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A detachable lock with a U-shaped bar hinged at one end, designed to be passed through the staple of a hasp or a link in a chain and then snapped shut.
  • transitive verb To lock up with or as if with a padlock.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To fasten by or as by means of a padlock.
  • noun A portable lock with a pivoted bow or hasp or a sliding hasp, designed to fit over a staple or engage a ring and to hang suspended when closed.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To fasten with, or as with, a padlock; to stop; to shut; to confine as by a padlock.
  • noun A portable lock with a bow which is usually jointed or pivoted at one end so that it can be opened, the other end being fastened by the bolt, -- used for fastening by passing the bow through a staple over a hasp or through the links of a chain, etc.
  • noun A curb; a restraint.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A detachable lock that can be used to secure something by means of a sliding or hinged shackle
  • verb To lock using a padlock.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb fasten with a padlock
  • noun a detachable lock; has a hinged shackle that can be passed through the staple of a hasp or the links in a chain and then snapped shut

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English padlok : pad-, of unknown meaning + lok, lock; see lock.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English padlok, from pad-, of unknown origin, + lok ("lock")

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Examples

  • To open the padlock, you must press the buttons. key number 1 to represent the letter 'a', the key number 2 to represent the letter 'f', and so on. code to open the padlock is 'padlock'.

    Archive 2009-05-01 2009

  • He takes a paper clip out of his pocket and opens it out, and I think maybe he has a penknife, too, and next thing I know the padlock is open.

    It's Like This, Cat 1963

  • "Azactly," said Old Gillman; and slipped the padlock from the staple and put it in his pocket.

    Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard 1922

  • 'Azactly,' said Old Gillman; and slipped the padlock from the staple and put it in his pocket.

    Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard 1921

  • Stuffed carefully into a steel locker secured with a padlock were the blocks of Semtex explosives, and on top of that locker lay one of the M-249 Squad Automatic Weapons.

    Thunder and Ashes Z.A. Recht 2008

  • This was a kind of padlock, which shut up all access to the seat of voluptuousness.

    Aphrodisiacs and Anti-aphrodisiacs: Three Essays on the Powers of Reproduction John Davenport 1833

  • There is no "padlock" to show that the other people in your conversation are also using secure Skype clients.

    Skype Journal 2009

  • Another option is a third-party 'padlock' security program for smartphones / PDAs.

    Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Views' 2009

  • Mfd, the bacterial TRCF RNA polymerase stalled at DNA damage is recognized by Mfd pre-incision complex (UvrB "padlock" bound to damaged DNA) RNA, RNAP Mfd UvrA 2 UvrA 2 UvrB RNA Pol Mfd COUPLING

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows 2010

  • "SSL certificates are the primary mechanism for ensuring that secure web sites -- those displaying that reassuring" padlock "icon in the address bar -- really are who they purport to be.

    Linux Today 2010

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