Word.ws English Dictionary

lockfile

lockfile noun: a file whose existence, by convention, indicates that a particular resource is in use.

Noun

lockfile (plural lockfiles)

  1. (Unix) A file whose existence, by convention, indicates that a particular resource is in use.
    • To remedy this, the script went under the knife again to take advantage of UUCP device-locking semantics. pppd and other well-mannered applications which use the modem will write lockfiles to /var/lock/ as long as you don't configure them not to.2001, Tony Mancill, Linux Routers: A Primer for Network Administrators, Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall PTR, →ISBN, page 92

Forms of lockfile

plurallockfiles

Origin of lockfile

Compound of lock + file.

Questions about lockfile

What does lockfile mean?
Lockfile means a file whose existence, by convention, indicates that a particular resource is in use.
What part of speech is lockfile?
Lockfile is a noun.
What is the plural of lockfile?
The plural of lockfile is lockfiles.

Words near lockfile in the dictionary

  1. lockets
  2. Lockett
  3. Lockey
  4. Lockeys
  5. lockfast
  6. lockfile
  7. lockfiles
  8. lockful
  9. lockfuls
  10. Lockhart
  11. Lockharts

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: lockfile (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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