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What does Lock & Load mean?
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Lock-and-load definition: (US, slang) A <a>command</a> to prepare a weapon for battle.
- Etymology
- Interjection
- Verb
Attested since at least 1793, when a document describes flintlock weapons that are ready to fire as "well locked and loaded". The variant "load(ed) and lock(ed)" is found since at least 1815. The phrase may have originated from the use of gunlocks on naval artillery (in use by the Royal Navy since 1745); as gunlocks were not required for firing (a ...
lock and load 1. (US, slang) A command to prepare a weapon for battle. 1.1. 1949 — John Wayne in the film Sands of Iwo Jima 1.1.1. Lock and load, boy, lock and load. 2. (US, slang) Preparefor an imminent event.
lock and load (third-person singular simple present locks and loads, present participle locking and loading, simple past and past participle locked and loaded) 1. (US, slang)To prepare one's weapon. 2. (US, slang) To prepare for an imminent event. 2.1. 2015, Fay Jacobs, Time Fries!: Aging Gracelessly in Rehoboth Beach, page 67: 2.1.1. It's great to...
Apr 13, 2021 · 13 April 2021. To lock and load literally means to ready a firearm for firing, and the phrase is often used as a command to do so. The exact phrasing of lock and load dates to just prior to the United States’ entry into World War II, but earlier uses of the command reverse the order, making it load and lock, the order of the actions depending ...
1. Prepare your weapon for use, as in battle. Hear that grass crunching? Lock and load—they're coming. 2. By extension, prepare for something that is soon to happen. Lock and load, everybody. The CEO is on his way down. See also: and, load, lock. Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved. See also:
Jul 19, 2023 · "Locked and loaded" means fully prepared and enthusiastic to face a challenge or begin a task, often with the connotation of determination and readiness. It is useful in informal conversations and applies to various situations, such as getting ready for a big project, embarking on a trip, or preparing for a competition.
Nov 22, 2017 · Whether it makes sense or not, "lock and load" is idiomatic, for 40 years or so. "Load and lock" was more popular in the WWII era. Load and (then) lock is the temporal order; but the fixed phrase is locked and loaded (more often as conjoined perfecti participles than infinitives).
