lockout

1 of 2

noun

lock·​out ˈläk-ˌau̇t How to pronounce lockout (audio)
: the withholding of employment by an employer and the whole or partial closing of the business establishment in order to gain concessions from or resist demands of employees

lock out

2 of 2

verb

locked out; locking out; locks out

transitive verb

: to subject (a body of employees) to a lockout

Examples of lockout in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Kraft chairs the league’s core media committee, which was responsible for securing a new media rights deal in 2021 reportedly worth more than $100 billion and helped broker a deal in 2011 that ended a lockout. Chad Graff, The Athletic, 21 Nov. 2024 Kickstart Your Day with The Morning Jolt George W. Bush used this provision of the law to stop a lockout of dockworkers on the West Coast in 2002. The Editors, National Review, 3 Oct. 2024
Verb
Selection committee chairman Warde Manuel said the committee will not re-order teams that do not play this weekend, suggesting teams behind Alabama, including No. 13 Mississippi and No. 14 South Carolina, are locked out of contention for an at-large bid. Ralph D. Russo, The Athletic, 4 Dec. 2024 MacKinnon invoked arbitration in August when both major Canadian railroads locked out their employees, and then implemented it again when ports in Montreal and British Columbia locked out thousands of workers. Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 2 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for lockout 

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1853, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1853, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lockout was in 1853

Dictionary Entries Near lockout

Cite this Entry

“Lockout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lockout. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

lockout

noun
lock·​out -ˌau̇t How to pronounce lockout (audio)
: the stopping of work or closing of a plant by an employer during a labor dispute in order to make the employees come to terms

Legal Definition

lockout

noun
lock·​out ˈläk-ˌau̇t How to pronounce lockout (audio)
: the withholding of employment by an employer in order to gain concessions from or resist demands of employees

More from Merriam-Webster on lockout

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