From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlock somebody ↔ out phrasal verb1 SHUT/CLOSEto keep someone out of a place by locking the door of I locked myself out of the house!2 STOP WORKING/GO ON STRIKEif employers lock workers out, they do not let them enter their place of work until they accept the employers’ conditions for settling a disagreement → lockout → lock→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
lock out• He has even been described as a musical Bill Gates, accused of monopolizing an industry and locking competitors out.• They try to lock them out.• Then press upwards until the arms are locked straight out and the triceps are fully contracted.• In 1876 the Institute's trustees locked the Temps out in Skinnergate during a financial row.• The tantrum she throws on her own front lawn, after De Niro locks her out, is a stunner.• Men have finally caught up with women in locking themselves out of their rooms.• They locked me out while they throw stuff at each other.• But simple latches are no problems to a thief - if you lock yourself out you will soon see why.lock of• Men have finally caught up with women in locking themselves out of their rooms.From Longman Business Dictionarylock out phrasal verb [transitive]1 lock somebody → outHUMAN RESOURCES if a company locks its workers out, it prevents them from entering their place of work until they have agreed to accept its conditionsThe company responded to the strike by locking out over 5,000 workers. → see also lock-out2 lock somebody/something → out to prevent a person or organization from taking part in a business activity or being involved in itSmaller firms have been locked out of the US market. → lock→ See Verb tablelock-outˈlock-out noun [countable]HUMAN RESOURCES a situation in which people are prevented from entering their place of work until they have agreed to accept conditions set down by their employers 