From Middle English unloken, unlouken, onlouken, from Old English onlūcan (“to unlock”), equivalent to un- + lock. Cognate with Dutch ontluiken (“to unlock”).
Meanings
The act of unlocking something.
Unlike modern, automated prisons, each cell here was locked and unlocked manually with a large skeleton key. The first duty was to get a proper head count of each inmate, insuring each was alive. Once done, an unlock was conducted. 1998, Steven Herberts, The Correctional Officer Inside Prisons, page 38:
The instructions between a lock and an unlock form a critical section. 2011, Ganesh Gopalakrishnan, Shaz Qadeer, Computer Aided Verification: 23rd International Conference:
An initially hidden feature that is made available to reward the player for some achievement.
The other unlocks, like a grenade launcher or a sniper's steady ability, didn't fit into my playstyle. 2012 October 11, Craig Pearson, “Hands On: Medal Of Honour Warfighter”, in Rock Paper Shotgun:
From Middle English unloken, unlouken, onlouken, from Old English onlūcan (“to unlock”), equivalent to un- + lock. Cognate with Dutch ontluiken (“to unlock”).
Meanings
(transitive) To undo or open a lock or something locked by, for example, turning a key, or selecting a combination.
I unlocked the door and walked in.
(transitive) To obtain access to something; to meet the requirements of a security or protection system.
Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field. 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
The combination of the new station and road improvements is expected to unlock up to 14,000 new homes, with the council saying no more than 2,500 homes can be built at Beaulieu and north east Chelmsford without the station. 2019 October, “Funding for 20tph East London line service”, in Modern Railways, page 18:
I unlocked the dictionary article so I could edit it.
This computer game is shareware, but you can pay for a code to unlock the full version.
(transitive) To configure (a mobile phone) so that it is not bound to any particular carrier.
(transitive) To disclose or reveal previously unknown knowledge or potential.
Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it. 2022 April 14, Rupert Neate, quoting Elon Musk, “Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter for more than $40bn”, in The Guardian:
The discovery of a clue unlocked the mystery.
(intransitive) To be or become unfastened or unrestrained.
He had come straight up without mishap or swerving off his course, and his shut teeth unlocked. 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:
(figuratively, transitive) To make available.
He also warned of the supply chain issues, stating: "Don't pretend you're going to unlock half a dozen [electrification] schemes simultaneously because you'll probably flood the supply chain, we don't have the capacity." 2020 May 20, Richard Clinnick, “Electrification key to decarbonisation”, in Rail, page 16:
(transitive) To undermine something that has control over a situation; to find a way to counter or oppose.
Saka's cross unlocked a well-organised Ukraine defence for Kane to pounce and set England on their way before producing a superb piece of individual skill to effectively end the contest. 2023 March 26, Phil McNulty, “England 2-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport:
es desbloquear (give access to something) · sh otključati (to undo or open a lock) · is taka úr lás (to undo or open a lock) · fy ûntskoattelje (to undo or open a lock) · mk отклучува (to undo or open a lock) · fi avata lukko (to undo or open a lock) · ne ताल्चा खोल्नु (to undo or open a lock) · pt destrancar (to undo or open a lock) · pt destravar (give access to something) · ang onlūcan (to undo or open a lock) · fi avata (give access to something) · es desacerrojar (to undo or open a lock) · de entriegeln (to undo or open a lock) · ja 解く (to undo or open a lock) · lo ໄຂກະແຈ (to undo or open a lock) · lt atrakinti (to undo or open a lock) · de freischalten (give access to something) · ja 開ける (to undo or open a lock) · it desbloquear (give access to something) · it sbloccare (give access to something) · th ไข (to undo or open a lock) · de aufschließen (to undo or open a lock) · io desklefagar (to undo or open a lock) · hu kinyit (to undo or open a lock) · ast despesllar (to undo or open a lock) · km ដោះសោ (to undo or open a lock) · gl despechar (to undo or open a lock) · got 𐌿𐍃𐌻𐌿𐌺𐌰𐌽 (to undo or open a lock) · eo malŝlosi (to undo or open a lock) · cy datgloi (to undo or open a lock) · es desapestillar (to undo or open a lock) · es abrir (to undo or open a lock) · gl desbloquear (give access to something) · fi avata (to undo or open a lock) · nl ontgrendelen (to undo or open a lock) · ro debloca (give access to something) · sv upplåsa (to undo or open a lock) · ja 解除する (to undo or open a lock) · es desatrancar (to undo or open a lock) · cmn 開鎖 /开锁 (to undo or open a lock) · ja 解錠する (to undo or open a lock) · vi mở khóa (to undo or open a lock) · it aprire (to undo or open a lock) · ru отпере́ть (to undo or open a lock) · fr déverrouiller (give access to something) · ko 열다 (to undo or open a lock) · es desllavear (to undo or open a lock) · el ξεκλειδώνω (to undo or open a lock) · fi avata lukitus (to undo or open a lock) · tr kilidini açmak (to undo or open a lock) · fr débloquer (give access to something) · fr déverrouiller (to undo or open a lock) · es descandar (to undo or open a lock) · es desenllavar (to undo or open a lock) · nl ontgrendelen (give access to something) · es desbloquear (to undo or open a lock) · ko 풀다 (to undo or open a lock) · es abrir con llave (to undo or open a lock) · is opna (to undo or open a lock) · ru отпира́ть (to undo or open a lock) · sh otključavati (to undo or open a lock) · ro descuia (to undo or open a lock) · ja 錠をあける (to undo or open a lock) · nl openen (to undo or open a lock) · cmn 解鎖 /解锁 (to undo or open a lock) · bo སྒོ་ལྕགས་ཕྱེ (to undo or open a lock) · gl abrir (to undo or open a lock) · hy կողպածը բանալ (to undo or open a lock) · ja 鍵をあける (to undo or open a lock) · he פתח (to undo or open a lock) · tr açmak (to undo or open a lock) · lv atbloķēt (to undo or open a lock) · cs odemknout (to undo or open a lock) · bg отключвам (to undo or open a lock) · pt desbloquear (give access to something) · pl otworzyć (kluczem) (to undo or open a lock) · da låse op (to undo or open a lock) · es desllavir (to undo or open a lock) · sv låsa upp (to undo or open a lock) · hi ताला खोलना (to undo or open a lock)