caps lock
noun
: a function on a computer keyboard that mimics the effect of holding down a shift key
Depending on the way the terminal or keyboard is designed, when caps lock is in effect the shift key may be ignored or it may cause a reverse shift: when the caps lock is in effect, the shift key puts letters back into lowercase.—
Infoworld
InfoworldExamples of caps lock in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Matt Drudge, the reclusive conservative journalist who made his fortune through link aggregation and effective use of caps lock, has listed his Miami home for $2.9 million.
—Curbed, 20 Oct. 2023
So is turning on caps lock to type the first letter of every sentence, or maintaining a Lego obsession into adulthood, or being afraid of astronauts.
—Callie Holtermann, New York Times, 7 June 2023
Imagine if your sweet aunt ran ESPN’s college football Facebook page, and all the commenters came from Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary’s page, but with the exact same disdain for discrete use of caps lock, exclamation points, and ellipses as Cher on Twitter.
—Erin Berger, Outside Online, 2 Oct. 2018
Sections are told entirely via email, or as an increasingly unhinged handbook for prospective female spies; another pours out in the breathless confessional rush of a teenage girl with one finger on the caps lock key.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 6 Apr. 2022
For the caps lock crowd, a sequence of big, blocky letter-shapes can feel triumphal, or boisterous, or rude, or needy.
—Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2021
This is not to diminish the dynamism and range present in his oeuvre of soaring anthems so much as to say that a Steinman track starts in caps lock and usually builds to CAPS LOCK BOLD, ITALIC, UNDERLINED, or ALL THREE.
—Tres Dean, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2021
In this online community, turning off the caps lock is optional, and rocket emojis are mandatory.
—Charley Grant, WSJ, 19 Feb. 2021
Actor Colin Hanks, son of Tom Hanks, busted out the caps lock for his condemnation.
—Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 6 Oct. 2020
Curbed, 20 Oct. 2023
So is turning on caps lock to type the first letter of every sentence, or maintaining a Lego obsession into adulthood, or being afraid of astronauts.
—Callie Holtermann, New York Times, 7 June 2023
Imagine if your sweet aunt ran ESPN’s college football Facebook page, and all the commenters came from Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary’s page, but with the exact same disdain for discrete use of caps lock, exclamation points, and ellipses as Cher on Twitter.
—Erin Berger, Outside Online, 2 Oct. 2018
Sections are told entirely via email, or as an increasingly unhinged handbook for prospective female spies; another pours out in the breathless confessional rush of a teenage girl with one finger on the caps lock key.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 6 Apr. 2022
For the caps lock crowd, a sequence of big, blocky letter-shapes can feel triumphal, or boisterous, or rude, or needy.
—Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2021
This is not to diminish the dynamism and range present in his oeuvre of soaring anthems so much as to say that a Steinman track starts in caps lock and usually builds to CAPS LOCK BOLD, ITALIC, UNDERLINED, or ALL THREE.
—Tres Dean, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2021
In this online community, turning off the caps lock is optional, and rocket emojis are mandatory.
—Charley Grant, WSJ, 19 Feb. 2021
Actor Colin Hanks, son of Tom Hanks, busted out the caps lock for his condemnation.
—Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 6 Oct. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'caps lock.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near caps lock
Cite this Entry
“Caps lock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caps%20lock. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share