Deathlock
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A certain wrestling move that traps the opponent's leg.
- 2 Synonym of death grip.; A close struggle between two opponents in which each tries to kill the other.
"When close to the whale, in the very deathlock of the fight, he handled his unpitying lance coolly and offhandedly, as a whistling tinker his hammer."
- 3 Synonym of death grip.; A struggle to destroy a force or principle to which one is opposed, or between two mutually incompatible principles. figuratively
"The struggle of Europe, coming, as well as past, is a final struggle of opposite principles; it is the deathlock between self-government and slavery."
- 4 Synonym of death grip.; Rigor mortis, or a physical grip that is similarly inflexible and unyielding.
""Don't believe the fellow who tells you to hold your shotgun in a deathlock-tight grip — so that it won't kick you."
- 5 Synonym of death grip.; A similarly tight hold on something nonphysical. figuratively
"But so, it seems, is the problem. The furor instigated by the war in Vietnam was projected into fraternity bull sessions and Ballantine coffee breaks. The trouble was that nobody, not even Rusk or Zinn, had a deathlock on accurate information."
Example
More examples"When close to the whale, in the very deathlock of the fight, he handled his unpitying lance coolly and offhandedly, as a whistling tinker his hammer."
Etymology
From death + lock.
Related phrases
More for "deathlock"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.