latch

Meaning

Verb

1. To close or lock as if with a latch.
2. (transitive) To catch; lay hold of.
3. To use a latch (kind of lightweight lock).
4. To connect to the breast.

Noun

1. A fastening for a door that has a bar that fits into a notch or slot, and is lifted by a lever or string from either side.
2. An electronic circuit that is like a flip-flop, except that it is level triggered instead of edge triggered.
3. (obsolete) A latching.
4. (obsolete) A crossbow.
5. (obsolete) That which fastens or holds; a lace; a snare.
6. A breastfeeding baby's connection to the breast.
7. A lightweight lock to protect internal structures from being modified by multiple concurrent accesses.

Synonyms

bolt

lock

🔒

bar

catch

door latch

hasp

hook

🪝

door-bolt

clasp

fasten

crossbar

lock up

padlock

pawl

secure

door bolt

handle

door handle

close

interlace

interlock

latching

clog up

locker

wooden bolt

breech closer

rim lock

pin

prick

breech lock

snap

splinter

spring bolt

spring lock

stab

thorn

trigger

breechblock

barrier

button

night latch

lock-on

nightlatch

snap-lock

doorknob

attach

fastener

fastening

fix

Translations

loquet

Klinke

Riegel

chiavistello

cerrojo

klink

catenaccio

saliscendi

pestillo

picaporte

trinco

verrou

Schnappriegel

einrasten

Pronounced as (IPA)

/læt͡ʃ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: lacchen

Inherited from Old English: læċċan

Cognate with Middle Dutch: lakken

Inherited from Middle English: latche

In summary

From Middle English lacchen (“to seize, catch, grasp”, verb), from Old English læċċan (“to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize”), from Proto-Germanic *lakjaną, *lakwijaną, *lakkijaną (“to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₂g-, *(s)leh₂gʷ- (“to take, seize”). Cognate with Middle Dutch lakken (“to grasp, catch”).