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latch

latch [ lach ]


noun  (plural latch·es)
Definition:
 
1. device for keeping doors shut: a device for holding a door, gate, or other opening closed consisting of a movable bar that drops into a hole or notch

2. door lock: a door lock that needs a key to be opened from the outside but not the inside



transitive verb  (past and past participle latched, present participle latch·ing, 3rd person present singular latch·es)
Definition:
 
fasten something with latch: to close or lock something with a latch

[ Old English læccan "to grasp" < Indo-European]
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