Dictionary

lock-in en · NOUN

Etymology

Deverbal from lock in.

Meanings

1. (US) 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.
   • The youth group will have their annual lock-in this weekend.
2. (Ireland, UK) 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.
   • 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. 2009, Annette J. Dunlea, Always and Forever, page 53:
3. 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.
   • vendor lock-in
4. The situation where an investor cannot trade without incurring an undesirable penalty such as taxation.

Forms

Deriveds

generational lock-in

Relateds

lockout · lockaway

Synonyms

wakeover

Translations (2)

pl umowa o wyłączności (a situation in which members of an industry) · sv inlåsning (a situation in which members of an industry)