Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - unlock

(unlocks, unlocking, unlocked) 1. If you unlock something such as a door, a room, or a container that has a lock, you open it using a key. He unlocked the car and threw the coat on to the back seat... ? lock VERB: V n 2. If you unlock the potential or the secrets of something or someone, you release them. Education and training is the key that will unlock our nation’s potential. VERB: V n