Word.ws English Dictionary

softlock

softlock noun: a situation where a game remains apparently playable, but further progress is impossible, typically due to a design flaw or glitch.

Noun

softlock (plural softlocks)

  1. A situation where a game remains apparently playable, but further progress is impossible, typically due to a design flaw or glitch.
    • I defeated the boss, but got hit at the exact same time; now I'm stuck in a softlock and can't exit the level.
    • Fixed a softlock where Concentration in the interrogation room wouldn’t turn off and wouldn’t let you start the interrogation.2026 January 23, “Update #2”, in Pathologic 3 Events, Ice-Pick Lodge, via Steam Community

Verb

softlock (third-person singular simple present softlocks, present participle softlocking, simple past and past participle softlocked)

  1. (intransitive, transitive) To be in or cause a softlock; to remain playable but unable to progress.

softlock meaning in Bengali

softlock in Bengali

সফটলক ঘটানো

Synonyms of softlock

Forms of softlock

Noun
pluralsoftlocks
Verb
third-person singular presentsoftlocks
present participlesoftlocking
past participlesoftlocked
pastsoftlocked

Origin of softlock

From soft + lock.

Questions about softlock

What does softlock mean?
Softlock means a situation where a game remains apparently playable, but further progress is impossible, typically due to a design flaw or glitch.
What is softlock in Bengali?
Softlock in Bengali is সফটলক ঘটানো. See Softlock meaning in Bengali.
What part of speech is softlock?
Softlock can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of softlock?
The plural of softlock is softlocks.

Words near softlock in the dictionary

  1. softlinks
  2. softload
  3. softloaded
  4. softloading
  5. softloads
  6. softlock
  7. softlocked
  8. softlocking
  9. softlocks
  10. softly
  11. softly softly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: softlock (page history and authors); softlock (Bengali Wiktionary) (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-softlock.wav.

Cite this entry: “softlock.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/softlock. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.