lock and key
Door-fastening duo
Lock and key refers to a matched security pair—the lock being a fastening mechanism, the key being the device that opens it.
The phrase most often appears in under lock and key, meaning securely confined or stored: The documents are kept under lock and key.
It can describe both physical security and figurative constraint: She kept her feelings under lock and key.
- padlockPortable locking device
- boltThreaded rod for nuts
- latchDoor-securing catch
- cylinderCircular-based solid form
- deadboltKey-operated door lock
secure · tumbler · combination · door · chest · safe · safe deposit box · metal · jingle · insert · turn · click · brass · skeleton · master · pick · chain · clasp
- childhood journalsdiary entries, secret thoughts, secrets, confessions, dreams
- coevolutioncoevolution, arms race, Red Queen hypothesis, cospeciation, predator-prey
- pairspair, pairs, two, duo, duos
- Valentine'shearts, red roses, chocolate box, Valentine card, conversation hearts
- South Asian gamescarrom, snakes and ladders, chaturanga, cowrie shells, kite flying
- Tattoo Flashold school, American traditional, bold lines, swallow, sparrow
lock and keycombination lock
Security device requiring sequence
combination dial · biometric scanner · facial recognition · keyless entry · digital lock
lock and keyunlocked
Not fastened shut
open door · open access · wide open · unsecured · free entry
lock and keyfreedom
Absence of constraint
liberty · release · free as a bird · at large · on the loose
lock, key, locks, keys, locked, locking, locker, lockers, locksmith