Synonyms

lockjaw

American

[lok-jaw] / ˈlɒkˌdʒɔ /

noun

Pathology.

tetanus in which the jaws become firmly locked together; trismus.

lockjaw British

/ ˈlɒkˌdʒɔː /

noun

pathol a nontechnical name for trismus tetanus

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of lockjaw

First recorded in 1795–1805; lock ¹ + jaw ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If the fungi could cure lockjaw, he’d feel a softening in those joints.

From Literature

You couldn’t be tongue-tied nor catch a case of lockjaw, or Tansy would give you an F. She was quick with her F’s.

From Literature

He was arrested in the early hours of 9 April in a car park near Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where he had gone to be treated for "lockjaw".

From BBC

If someone tells you “I don’t like eating MSG because I get headaches” or “I get lockjaw” or whatever symptoms they have, then don’t say they are racist or imagining it.

From Seattle Times

Stewart knew that taking on “Spencer” would be a challenge, and in the days leading up to the shoot, she even developed lockjaw as she ceaselessly practiced her British accent.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023