locker

See also: Locker

English

a locker (#1) in a Japanese railway station

lockers in a German railway station

lockers in an American high school hallway

Etymology

From lock +‎ -er (patient suffix) or -er (agent noun suffix). Related to German Loch, Dutch luik, and Dutch loket.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɒk.ə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlɑ.kɚ/
• (Australia) IPA^(key): /ˈlɔk.ə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒkə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: lock‧er

Noun

locker (plural lockers)

1. A type of storage compartment with a lock, usually used to store personal possessions for public use, such as in schools, railway stations, place of work, gyms, sports centers.

   The student placed her books in her locker when she arrived at school.

   • 2016 October 8, Donald J. Trump, “Donald J. Trump’s Apology for Vulgar Comments”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     This was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it. I apologize to my family. I apologize to the American people. Certainly I'm not proud of it. But this is locker room talk.

   • 2024 February 1, Nell Lewis, “South African innovator’s medicine-dispensing lockers win prestigious prize”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     Neo Hutiri is the creator of Pelebox, a system of internet-enabled lockers that dispense medication for chronic conditions to patients, helping to cut down queues and ease pressure on hospital resources.

2. A lockable cubicle.

   She was afraid to come out of the locker.

3. A storage compartment on a ship, not necessarily one that can be locked.
4. (rare) One who locks something.

   The locker of the trapped chest must be careful, so as not to spring the trap.

5. (automotive) A locking differential.
6. (historical) A customs officer who guards a warehouse.
   • 1845, Reports of cases argued and determined in the courts of Exchequer & Exchequer Chamber, volume 12:

     The actual delivery of the goods is then effected by any person bearing an order from the importer, called a merchant's order, and addressed to the warehouse-keeper, upon the presentment of which the warehouseman delivers the goods, having previously obtained the signature of the locker to it as a proof that the duties have been paid […]

7. (Louisiana) A closet.
8. (computing) An online storage service for files.
   • 2014, Cory Doctorow, Information Doesn't Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age:

     Then there are online service providers (OSPs), which might provide you with a message board, a blogging system, a video-hosting service, a file locker, an instant-messaging system, or an email box.

Synonyms

• (storage compartment): footlocker

Derived terms

• chain locker
• clasp locker
• cryptolocker
• cyberlocker
• Davey Jones' locker
• Davy Jones' locker
• Davy Jones's locker
• Davy's locker
• dip locker
• foot locker
• hurt locker
• locker loop
• lockerman
• locker room
• parcel locker
• shot in one's locker
• shot in the locker
• threadlocker

Related terms

• lockbox

Translations

storage compartment

• Afrikaans: sluitkas (af)
• Armenian: պահարան (hy) (paharan)
• Bulgarian: шкафче (bg) n (škafče)
• Catalan: armari (ca), caseller m, armariet m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 儲物櫃 / 储物柜 (cyu⁵ mat⁶ gwai⁶)

  Mandarin: 鎖櫃 / 锁柜 (suǒguì)

• Danish: skab (da) n
• Esperanto: ŝlosujo, ŝranko, ŝranketo
• Finnish: lukkokaappi, kaappi (fi), lukkolokero, lokero (fi)
• French: casier (fr) m consigne automatique (fr) f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Spind (de) m, Schließfach (de) n
• Hebrew: תָּא (he) m (ta)
• Hindi: लाकर (hi) m (lākar), कपाट (hi) m (kapāṭ)
• Hungarian: szekrény (hu), öltözőszekrény (hu), fach (hu)
• Italian: armadietto m
• Japanese: 戸棚 (ja) (とだな, todana), ロッカー (ja) (rokkā)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Māori: rokara
• Norwegian: skap (no) n
• Polish: bakista (pl) f (on a ship)
• Portuguese: armário (pt), cacifo (pt) m, escaninho (pt) m
• Russian: (запирающийся) шка́фчик (ru) m (škáfčik), (запирающийся) я́щик (ru) m (jáščik), рунду́к (ru) m (rundúk) (nautical)
• Spanish: armario (es) m, casillero (es) m, locker (es) m (Latin America), taquilla (es) f
• Thai: ตู้ฝากของ
• Turkish: dolap (tr)
• Ukrainian: ша́фка f (šáfka)
• Vietnamese: tủ khóa

See also

• chest
• trunk

Further reading

• “locker”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.
• “locker”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “locker”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “locker”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.

Anagrams

• relock, rockel

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English locker.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔ.kər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: loc‧ker
• Rhymes: -ɔkər

Noun

locker m (plural lockers, diminutive lockertje n)

1. a locker (lockable storage compartment)

   Synonym: kluis

German

Etymology

From an adjectival form of Middle High German lücke / lugge, with further origin uncertain; perhaps related to Lücke (“gap”) and Loch (“hole”), via semantic development along the lines of "gap" > "loose opening" > "loose". Compare the semantics of English gap → gappy.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

locker (strong nominative masculine singular lockerer, comparative lockerer, superlative am lockersten)

1. loose
2. relaxed

   Synonym: entspannt

   Antonym: verkrampft

Declension

Positive forms of locker number & gender singular plural masculine feminine neuter predicative er ist locker sie ist locker es ist locker sie sind locker strong declension (without article) nominative lockerer lockere lockeres lockere genitive lockeren lockerer lockeren lockerer dative lockerem lockerer lockerem lockeren accusative lockeren lockere lockeres lockere weak declension (with definite article) nominative der lockere die lockere das lockere die lockeren genitive des lockeren der lockeren des lockeren der lockeren dative dem lockeren der lockeren dem lockeren den lockeren accusative den lockeren die lockere das lockere die lockeren mixed declension (with indefinite article) nominative ein lockerer eine lockere ein lockeres (keine) lockeren genitive eines lockeren einer lockeren eines lockeren (keiner) lockeren dative einem lockeren einer lockeren einem lockeren (keinen) lockeren accusative einen lockeren eine lockere ein lockeres (keine) lockeren Comparative forms of locker number & gender singular plural masculine feminine neuter predicative er ist lockerer sie ist lockerer es ist lockerer sie sind lockerer strong declension (without article) nominative lockererer lockerere lockereres lockerere genitive lockereren lockererer lockereren lockererer dative lockererem lockererer lockererem lockereren accusative lockereren lockerere lockereres lockerere weak declension (with definite article) nominative der lockerere die lockerere das lockerere die lockereren genitive des lockereren der lockereren des lockereren der lockereren dative dem lockereren der lockereren dem lockereren den lockereren accusative den lockereren die lockerere das lockerere die lockereren mixed declension (with indefinite article) nominative ein lockererer eine lockerere ein lockereres (keine) lockereren genitive eines lockereren einer lockereren eines lockereren (keiner) lockereren dative einem lockereren einer lockereren einem lockereren (keinen) lockereren accusative einen lockereren eine lockerere ein lockereres (keine) lockereren Superlative forms of locker number & gender singular plural masculine feminine neuter predicative er ist am lockersten sie ist am lockersten es ist am lockersten sie sind am lockersten strong declension (without article) nominative lockerster lockerste lockerstes lockerste genitive lockersten lockerster lockersten lockerster dative lockerstem lockerster lockerstem lockersten accusative lockersten lockerste lockerstes lockerste weak declension (with definite article) nominative der lockerste die lockerste das lockerste die lockersten genitive des lockersten der lockersten des lockersten der lockersten dative dem lockersten der lockersten dem lockersten den lockersten accusative den lockersten die lockerste das lockerste die lockersten mixed declension (with indefinite article) nominative ein lockerster eine lockerste ein lockerstes (keine) lockersten genitive eines lockersten einer lockersten eines lockersten (keiner) lockersten dative einem lockersten einer lockersten einem lockersten (keinen) lockersten accusative einen lockersten eine lockerste ein lockerstes (keine) lockersten

Adverb

locker

1. loosely
2. relaxedly, casually
3. (with an estimate) easily (expressing confidence in the value or estimation)

   Es waren locker hundert Leute auf der Party. ― There were easily a hundred people at the party.

   Das hat hier locker Platz. ― This will fit easily here.

Verb

locker

1. inflection of lockern:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. singular imperative

Further reading

• “locker” in Duden online
• “locker”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[3] (in German)
• Friedrich Kluge (1883), “locker”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891

Spanish

Alternative forms

• lóquer

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English locker.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlokeɾ/ [ˈlo.keɾ]
• Rhymes: -okeɾ
• Syllabification: loc‧ker

Noun

locker m (plural lockers)

1. (Latin America) locker

   Synonyms: casillero, taquilla

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “locker”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010