under lock and key

idiom

: in a room, box, etc., that is locked
The jewels are kept under lock and key.
The prisoner is being kept/held under lock and key.

Examples of under lock and key in a Sentence

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Usually kept under lock and key, the plate has been let out for air and is currently on display for a few months at the Mapping the Infinite: Cosmologies Across Cultures exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 17 Jan. 2025 Just days before the stone was to be released, a federal court judge ordered that the emerald remain under lock and key until the federal case with Brazil concludes. Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2024 Related Articles During the pandemic, mass merchants and drug stores began putting more of their product under lock and key warding off garden variety shoplifters, gangs and flash mobs that organized on social media and overwhelmed stores. Evan Clark, WWD, 22 Nov. 2024 Star Kevin Costner, who played patriarch John Dutton, famously exited the series ahead of the final run, and how the show will handle his storyline remains under lock and key. Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for under lock and key 

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Cite this Entry

“Under lock and key.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/under%20lock%20and%20key. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.

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