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latch

Syllabification: (latch)
Pronunciation: /laCH/

Translate latch | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of latch

noun

  • a metal bar with a catch and lever used for fastening a door or gate.
  • a spring lock for an outer door that catches when the door is closed and can only be opened from the outside with a key.
  • Electronics a circuit that retains whatever output state results from a momentary input signal until reset by another signal.
  • the part of a knitting machine needle that closes or opens to hold or release the wool.

verb

[with object]
  • fasten (a door or gate) with a latch:she latched the door carefully
  • [no object] Electronics (of a device) become fixed in a particular state.

Phrasal Verbs

latch onto

informal attach oneself to (someone) as a constant and usually unwelcome companion:a knack for latching onto people with greater initiative and enterprise
take up (an idea or trend) enthusiastically:the media have latched onto the snappy “Generation X” catchphrase
(of one substance) cohere with (another).

Origin:

Old English læccan 'take hold of, grasp (physically or mentally)', of Germanic origin

latch in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of latch in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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