air lock

¹ American  

noun

1. Civil Engineering. an airtight chamber permitting passage to or from a space, as in a caisson, in which the air is kept under pressure.

2. the impedance in the functioning of a pump or a system of piping caused by the presence of an air bubble; vapor lock.

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air-lock ² American  

[air-lok] / ˈɛərˌlɒk /

verb (used with object)

1. to place in or confine to an air lock.

   to air-lock divers before they descend.

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Etymology

Origin of air lock¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Origin of air-lock²

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Anticipation and tension grew as the crew prepared to open the hatch on the craft that has no air lock, or doorway between the vacuum outside and the rest of the spacecraft.

From BBC • Sep. 12, 2024

After a hose from a ceiling pipe is connected to a valve on his suit — “you inflate like the Michelin Man,” he said — he passes through an air lock and into his lab.

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2021

Do you need to wash everything, wear gloves, and/or create a makeshift air lock where the Instacart delivery person can drop your bags?

From Slate • Mar. 18, 2020

It deflated enough to allow Mr. Leonov to enter the capsule’s air lock headfirst, but the change in pressure left him at risk of decompression sickness.

From Washington Post • Oct. 12, 2019

We’re back in the air lock before I start to recognize what I’ve done.

From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon