Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - lock out

1. If someone locks you out of a place, they prevent you entering it by locking the doors. They had had a row, and she had locked him out of the apartment... My husband’s locked me out. PHRASAL VERB: V n P of n, V n P 2. If you lock yourself out of a place, such as your house, you cannot get in because the door is locked and you do not have your keys. The new tenants locked themselves out of their apartment and had to break in... There had been a knock at the door and when she opened it she locked herself out... The wind had made the door swing closed, and she was now locked out. PHRASAL VERB: V pron-refl P of n, V pron-refl P, V-ed P 3. In an industrial dispute, if a company locks its workers out, it closes the factory or office in order to prevent the employees coming to work. (BUSINESS) The company locked out the workers, and then the rest of the work force went on strike. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P