"lock and load" meaning in English

See lock and load in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Interjection

Audio: En-au-lock and load.ogg [Australia]
Etymology: Attested since at least 1793, when a document describes flintlock weapons that are ready to fire as "well locked and loaded". The variant "load(ed) and lock(ed)" is found since at least 1815. The phrase may have originated from the use of gunlocks on naval artillery (in use by the Royal Navy since 1745); as gunlocks were not required for firing (a lintstock could be used) it may have been necessary to specify cannon was "locked" as well as loaded. As an imperative, used since at least 1940, in the U.S. Army Field Manual for the M1 Rifle. Compare e.g. German "laden und sichern" ("load and secure"). Popularized in culture after being used by John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949).
  1. (US, slang) A command to prepare a weapon for battle. Tags: US, slang
    Sense id: en-lock_and_load-en-intj-cwEPxsVz Categories (other): American English, English coordinated pairs, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English coordinated pairs: 19 25 30 26 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 12 36 18 34 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 19 27 28 26 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 19 27 28 26
  2. (US, slang) Prepare for an imminent event. Tags: US, slang
    Sense id: en-lock_and_load-en-intj-bIgxZbOz Categories (other): American English, English coordinated pairs, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English coordinated pairs: 19 25 30 26 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 12 36 18 34 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 19 27 28 26 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 19 27 28 26

Verb

Audio: En-au-lock and load.ogg [Australia] Forms: locks and loads [present, singular, third-person], locking and loading [participle, present], locked and loaded [participle, past], locked and loaded [past]
Etymology: Attested since at least 1793, when a document describes flintlock weapons that are ready to fire as "well locked and loaded". The variant "load(ed) and lock(ed)" is found since at least 1815. The phrase may have originated from the use of gunlocks on naval artillery (in use by the Royal Navy since 1745); as gunlocks were not required for firing (a lintstock could be used) it may have been necessary to specify cannon was "locked" as well as loaded. As an imperative, used since at least 1940, in the U.S. Army Field Manual for the M1 Rifle. Compare e.g. German "laden und sichern" ("load and secure"). Popularized in culture after being used by John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). Head templates: {{en-verb|lock<> and load<>}} lock and load (third-person singular simple present locks and loads, present participle locking and loading, simple past and past participle locked and loaded)
  1. (US, slang) To prepare one's weapon. Tags: US, slang
    Sense id: en-lock_and_load-en-verb-U6UjG2fR Categories (other): American English, English coordinated pairs, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English coordinated pairs: 19 25 30 26 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 12 36 18 34 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 19 27 28 26 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 19 27 28 26
  2. (US, slang) To prepare for an imminent event. Tags: US, slang
    Sense id: en-lock_and_load-en-verb-RmDEcM4d Categories (other): American English, English coordinated pairs, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English coordinated pairs: 19 25 30 26 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 12 36 18 34 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 19 27 28 26 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 19 27 28 26
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: loaded for bear

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for lock and load meaning in English (7.6kB)

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  "etymology_text": "Attested since at least 1793, when a document describes flintlock weapons that are ready to fire as \"well locked and loaded\". The variant \"load(ed) and lock(ed)\" is found since at least 1815. The phrase may have originated from the use of gunlocks on naval artillery (in use by the Royal Navy since 1745); as gunlocks were not required for firing (a lintstock could be used) it may have been necessary to specify cannon was \"locked\" as well as loaded.\nAs an imperative, used since at least 1940, in the U.S. Army Field Manual for the M1 Rifle. Compare e.g. German \"laden und sichern\" (\"load and secure\"). Popularized in culture after being used by John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949).",
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      "id": "en-lock_and_load-en-verb-U6UjG2fR",
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  "etymology_text": "Attested since at least 1793, when a document describes flintlock weapons that are ready to fire as \"well locked and loaded\". The variant \"load(ed) and lock(ed)\" is found since at least 1815. The phrase may have originated from the use of gunlocks on naval artillery (in use by the Royal Navy since 1745); as gunlocks were not required for firing (a lintstock could be used) it may have been necessary to specify cannon was \"locked\" as well as loaded.\nAs an imperative, used since at least 1940, in the U.S. Army Field Manual for the M1 Rifle. Compare e.g. German \"laden und sichern\" (\"load and secure\"). Popularized in culture after being used by John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949).",
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  "etymology_text": "Attested since at least 1793, when a document describes flintlock weapons that are ready to fire as \"well locked and loaded\". The variant \"load(ed) and lock(ed)\" is found since at least 1815. The phrase may have originated from the use of gunlocks on naval artillery (in use by the Royal Navy since 1745); as gunlocks were not required for firing (a lintstock could be used) it may have been necessary to specify cannon was \"locked\" as well as loaded.\nAs an imperative, used since at least 1940, in the U.S. Army Field Manual for the M1 Rifle. Compare e.g. German \"laden und sichern\" (\"load and secure\"). Popularized in culture after being used by John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949).",
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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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