air lock

Civil Engineering. an airtight chamber permitting passage to or from a space, as in a caisson, in which the air is kept under pressure.

the impedance in the functioning of a pump or a system of piping caused by the presence of an air bubble; vapor lock.

Origin of air lock

First recorded in 1855–60

air-lock

[ air-lok ]

/ ˈɛərˌlɒk /

to place in or confine to an air lock: to air-lock divers before they descend.

First recorded in 1855–60

They'd locate a shallow rill; then they'd build an airlock to protect them against chance meteorites.

First on the Moon |Jeff Sutton
After an interminable climb he saw the purplish Martian sky through the glass doors of an airlock.

The Martian Cabal |Roman Frederick Starzl
Johnny Simms fired again and again from his post in the airlock.

Operation: Outer Space |William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Open the airlock for them, men, for they'll want to come inside.

The Sargasso of Space |Edmond Hamilton

Kennon opened the airlock and two radiation-suited men entered.

The Lani People |J. F. Bone

airlock

/ (ˈɛəˌlɒk) /

a bubble in a pipe causing an obstruction or stoppage to the flow

an airtight chamber with regulated air pressure used to gain access to a space that has air under pressure