Meaning & use
lock keeper
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person whose job is to operate the gates of a canal lock so boats can pass through.
Grammar: Countable: a lock keeper, the lock keeper, two lock keepers.
Patterns
- work as a lock keeper
- the lock keeper's house
The lock keeper opened the gates to let our narrowboat through.
She grew up in a lock keeper's cottage beside the canal.
Modern locks are often automatic, so few lock keepers are needed now.
Word forms
| plural | lock keepers |
|---|
Common combinations
- work as a lock keeper
- He worked as a lock keeper on the Grand Union Canal.
- the lock keeper's cottage
- They rented the old lock keeper's cottage for the summer.
- a lock keeper on the canal
- A lock keeper on the canal helped us tie up the boat.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lockman
- An old-fashioned American term for the same job; it is rare today and may not be understood in Britain.
Word family
- lock noun
- A section of a canal with gates that raise or lower boats between water levels.
- lock-keeper's adjective
- Belonging to a lock keeper, as in a lock-keeper's cottage.
Commonly confused: lock keeper or locker?
lock keeper vs locker
A locker is a small cupboard for storing things; a lock keeper is a person who works on a canal.
Practice
The ___ helped us move our boat down to the next level of the canal.
Choose one answer.
A lock keeper operates canal locks. A locker is a storage cupboard, a locksmith makes keys and repairs locks, and a lockout is a situation where workers are kept out of their workplace.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lock keeper”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.