lock screen

noun

plural lock screens

: a graphical user interface displayed by a device (such as a computer or smartphone) that prevents access to most functions of the device until a certain action (such as swiping one's finger across the screen or entering a predetermined code) is performed

Speaking of locking your phone, Android typically shows notifications on your lock screen by default—which means the contents of messages you receive might be visible to anyone who looks at your device, even if they can't unlock it.

—JR Raphael

Examples of lock screen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

All widgets in the Android ecosystem will be compatible with lock screens by default. —Jibin Joseph, PCMAG, 7 Mar. 2025

Authors of Friday’s report wrote: The exploit, which targeted Linux kernel USB drivers, enabled Cellebrite customers with physical access to a locked Android device to bypass an Android phone’s lock screen and gain privileged access on the device. —Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 28 Feb. 2025

But the reason was strictly to choose joy, which is a phrase that’s been on my lock screen for the last two years, for personal life and work life. —Selome Hailu, Variety, 24 Jan. 2025

Since the Eagles' Super Bowl loss two years earlier against Kansas City, Hurts adorned his phone's lock screen with a photo of himself walking off the field following the defeat, a constant reminder of coming up short on the NFL's biggest stage. —Andrew Greif, NBC News, 10 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lock screen

• agin
• alkene
• allene
• ameen
• amin
• amine
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between