Lock out means to prohibit someone from entering. Lock out is a phrase that functions as a verb, related terms are locks out, locked out, locking out.
A lockout is the process of an employer prohibiting employees to enter a business in order to work, a lockout occurs when there is a labor disagreement. Written as one word, lockout is used as an adjective or noun, lock-out is also acceptable. The term lockout is first used in 1854. Employers usually use a lockout in order to force a workers’ union to accept lower wages or loss of benefits when negotiating a new contract agreement.
Examples
RushCard’s users were locked out from accessing their money, including their most recent paychecks. (Newsweek)
The amendments to Presidential Elections Act 2015 and the Parliamentary Elections Act 2015 are likely to lock out the poor Ugandans aspiring to join Parliament. (The Monitor)
Embattled MP Billy Gordon says the Labor government’s proposed lockout laws could have “relevance” for the south-east but are wrong for far north Queensland. (The Brisbane Times)
In addition, Harshman said it took about two to three weeks from the Aug. 15 lockout until the company was really able to roll out a safe restart of its operations. (The Pittsburgh Business Times)
The lockout came after the workers refused to accept cuts in pay and benefits for active and retired employees. (The Corpus Christi Caller-Times)
The protesters, from a group named Reclaim the Streets, are calling for the lockout laws to be abandoned because late-night revellers are pushed out of the central business district and drawn to areas such as Newtown, causing an increase in alcohol-fuelled violence there. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
‘All staff and students are safe with each school in lock-out,’ the NSW Department of Education spokesperson said. (The Daily Mail)