latch
noun /lætʃ/
/lætʃ/
Idioms - a small metal bar that is used to fasten a door or a gate. You raise it to open the door and drop it to fasten it.
- He lifted the latch and opened the door.
Extra Examples- She lifted the latch and went into the garden.
- She tried the latch, but the door wouldn't open.
- (especially British English) a type of lock on a door that needs a key to open it from the outside
- She listened for his key in the latch.
Word OriginOld English læccan ‘take hold of, grasp (physically or mentally)’, of Germanic origin.
Idioms
on the latch
- (British English) closed but not locked
- Can you leave the door on the latch so I can get in?