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latch

latch definition

latch (lac̸h)

noun

a fastening for a door or gate, esp. one capable of being worked from either side by means of a lever and consisting of a bar that falls into a notch in a piece attached to the doorjamb or gatepost
a spring lock on a door; specif., a night latch
a fastening for a window, etc.

Etymology: ME lacche < lacchen, to seize, catch hold of < OE læccan < IE base *(s)lagw-, to grasp, seize > Gr lazesthai, to take, lambanein, to seize

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to fasten or close with a latch

latch Idioms

latch onto

☆

Informal to get or obtain

on the latch

fastened by the latch (sense ) but not locked or bolted