"under lock and key" meaning in English

See under lock and key in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

Audio: En-au-under lock and key.ogg
Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} under lock and key, {{en-PP}} under lock and key
  1. (US, UK, idiomatic) imprisoned with little or no chance of escape; locked up. Tags: UK, US, idiomatic
    Sense id: en-under_lock_and_key-en-prep_phrase-QD2Aoufg Categories (other): American English, British English
  2. (US, UK, idiomatic) safely guarded; locked away. Tags: UK, US, idiomatic
    Sense id: en-under_lock_and_key-en-prep_phrase-kp2hh5ny Categories (other): American English, British English, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 37 63 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 36 64 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 36 64
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "under lock and key",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "under lock and key",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If it was him we can have him under lock and key in 24 hours.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "imprisoned with little or no chance of escape; locked up."
      ],
      "id": "en-under_lock_and_key-en-prep_phrase-QD2Aoufg",
      "links": [
        [
          "imprisoned",
          "imprisoned"
        ],
        [
          "locked up",
          "locked up"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, UK, idiomatic) imprisoned with little or no chance of escape; locked up."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "37 63",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "36 64",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "36 64",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008, Edward J. McMillan, Model Policies and Procedures for Not-for-Profit Organizations, page 239:",
          "text": "It is the policy of the organization to keep unused check supplies safeguarded under lock and key.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "safely guarded; locked away."
      ],
      "id": "en-under_lock_and_key-en-prep_phrase-kp2hh5ny",
      "links": [
        [
          "safely",
          "safely"
        ],
        [
          "guarded",
          "guarded"
        ],
        [
          "locked",
          "locked"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, UK, idiomatic) safely guarded; locked away."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
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}
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    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English prepositional phrases",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
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  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
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    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "British English",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
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        {
          "text": "If it was him we can have him under lock and key in 24 hours.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "imprisoned with little or no chance of escape; locked up."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "imprisoned",
          "imprisoned"
        ],
        [
          "locked up",
          "locked up"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, UK, idiomatic) imprisoned with little or no chance of escape; locked up."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "British English",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008, Edward J. McMillan, Model Policies and Procedures for Not-for-Profit Organizations, page 239:",
          "text": "It is the policy of the organization to keep unused check supplies safeguarded under lock and key.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "safely guarded; locked away."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "safely",
          "safely"
        ],
        [
          "guarded",
          "guarded"
        ],
        [
          "locked",
          "locked"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, UK, idiomatic) safely guarded; locked away."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
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    }
  ],
  "word": "under lock and key"
}

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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 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). 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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